


battle, my love (carry my heart with you always)

by bagalauber



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety Attacks, Background Relationships, Canon Universe, Canon-Typical Violence, Don't worry it'll be ok, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Grief/Mourning, Julie can see all ghosts in this one, Kinda, M/M, Manipulation, Mild Language, Minor Character Death, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, basically between everyone, cute friendships between alex/julie/luke/reggie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:15:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 31,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28332981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bagalauber/pseuds/bagalauber
Summary: Alex wants to spend this Christmas with the people he loves--Julie, Luke, Reggie, Flynn, Carrie, and, of course, Willie. Especially Willie. He still doesn't know how to express his feelings very well, but he's hoping that by having Willie for the Secret Santa exchange, he'll be able to show him how he feels with a special gift. Things don't go exactly as planned when Willie's past starts getting in the way of things, leaving Alex to pick up the pieces when everything starts falling apart. And by that, he means literally everything.Or, Willie's ex-boyfriend shows up as a ghost, ruining Alex's plans. And quite possibly him and his friends' entire existence.
Relationships: Alex Mercer/Willie (Julie and The Phantoms)
Comments: 23
Kudos: 74





	1. secret santa

**Author's Note:**

  * For [madisonreyes on tumblr](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=madisonreyes+on+tumblr).



> Here is my @jatpdaily's secret santa gift for @madisonreyes on tumblr! Merry Christmas, my love! So sorry it's late, btw. I am a horrible procrastinator. And perfectionist. A terrible combination, really. Hence the reason for this fic being incomplete. For now, at least.
> 
> Disclaimer: 
> 
> -Warnings! Please read the tags, I put all of them in there. If not, here is the general warnings: anxiety attacks, canon-typical violence, grief, mild language, emotional hurt/some abuse. If this triggers you in any way, you may want to stop reading.
> 
> -Yes, I put Andy Biersack in this fic. Yes, he is from American Satan and Black Veil Brides, and yes, I put him in this fic specifically because he was in the movie with Booboo. I felt putting him as Willie's past love interest would add a little bit of spice.
> 
> -I'm still updating this fic, so there might be some errors and quite possibly some plot holes because I tried really hard to finish this by Christmas...I hope not? But you have been warned.

It doesn’t snow in Hollywood.

Well, it does, but it hasn’t for a very long time. The last was in 1962, and the snow only flew in from the mountains and dusted the city in a light blanket before melting as soon as it touched the polluted streets.

Willie knows everything, apparently. But just because there’s no snow in Hollywood didn’t stop him from taking them to a place where it could.

They both wanted to experience winter, _real_ winter, where it could actually feel like those “White Christmases” in the movies. Even though Christmas wasn’t for another couple of weeks, they knew they probably wouldn’t get another chance to have the whole days to themselves. With band rehearsals, helping Julie, Flynn, and Carrie study for finals, and Willie trying to keep things on the down low, they didn’t get a lot of time together. So, yeah, having a whole day to spend with Willie was nice. Especially here, in the colder temperatures of upper California.

When Alex opened his eyes, all he could see was a blur of white sky above him.

The snow fell around them in delicate sprinkles of white powder, softly floating down to the earth in a variety of unique and individual shapes, every single one of them different from the next. He could feel the breath of Willie lying down beside him, inhaling in and out with gentle exhales as the flakes continued to make their way down to the ground around them.

When Alex turned his head to look at him, he could see the snowflakes taking turns landing in Willie’s hair, interweaving themselves into his locks before letting themselves drift into the piles of powder underneath him.

Of course, they couldn’t feel the ice crystals. Not really. In fact, the snowflakes decided to rather float down through them instead of landing on their skin. That’s just how it is, though. Being ghosts, and all. Things pass through you or past you and there’s not much you can do about it.

But it’s nice to think that the crystals are. It’s nice to think about the bitter sting of a snowflake tickling the tip of your nose, finding a home in your eyelashes, or even settling on your tongue and turning into an icy liquid before cooling down your throat.

That’s something they both miss about being alive. The _feelings_ that it brought. The simple, uncomplicated, and effortless consciousness about having a body and the sensations that come along with it.

Even like days like today, where it’s hard to remember those feelings in a world filled with life, it’s not like those feelings are completely lost. They can still feel each other. And Alex can feel Luke and Reggie and he can even feel Julie now, too, which is something that he thought couldn’t be possible. Living in the afterlife has its faults, but there is no doubt that it also comes with new surprises every day.

And even though he can’t completely let himself be okay with being dead, he can still feel good about lying here next to Willie. He can still feel good about having him here, with him, existing with him, _breathing_ with him, even if that air passes straight through their lungs.

“Willie?”

Alex watches him as he slowly moves his brown eyes from the sky to meet with his blue ones. Once they settle, they appear warm and soft, a cozy pool of dark honey that has the ability to heat up his cheeks and bones, if such a thing is still possible. They’re the perfect contrast to the cold atmosphere around them.

“Yeah?” Willie says. He’s gorgeous. God, he’s so gorgeous, and Alex is simply at a loss for words every time he looks at him.

Maybe…maybe Alex could tell him. The opportunity has presented itself on a silver platter, evidently, and there doesn’t seem to be a more perfect place than here to bring it up.

But.

But is it too soon? Is he ready for that conversation? Does Willie even feel the same way? Alex doesn’t know. He might not even know himself what their relationship is or where it stands, but he does know that they become closer every minute they spend together.

He panics, as usual, and blurts out the first thing that pops into his head. “Do you ever miss Christmas?”

Willie laughs. “Do I ever miss Christmas? All the time,” He sneaks a glance at Alex. “What brought that up, hotdog?”

Alex lifts up the side of his mouth in a half smile. _I don’t know, just the fact that I really, really like you and I can’t help but say stupid things when I’m around you,_ he thinks. He decides to go the safe route and tell him the half-truth.

“I don’t know, just. This is my first _actual_ Christmas being a ghost. Well, technically, it’s my twenty-fifth, but it’s the first one when I’ll be aware of it. And I can’t help but think about how different it’s going to be.”

Willie studies him, looking for signs of uneasiness, panic, anxiety. He tends to do this a lot now, but to Alex, it doesn’t bug him like it should for anyone else. Instead, it soothes him, knowing that Willie is worried about him and is looking for ways to calm him down.

“Well, I’m not going to lie to you. It’ll definitely be a change. When I first got out of the dark room and experienced my first Christmas, well, it…it sucked. A lot,” He says, shaking his head. “Not being with your family during the holidays sucks. Being around lifers who live and breathe Christmas dust is even worse,” he chuckles, “but you get used to it. Time passes on and before you know it, it’s over.”

Alex starts to feel a sense of dread stir in his non-existent stomach. He didn’t even _realize_ his mistake, and now that he has, he feels horrible.

Willie doesn’t have a family.

And, sure, Alex doesn’t have one either. They both lost their families the moment they died.

But Alex has Luke and Reggie and Julie. Alex has Flynn and Carrie and Carlos and Ray, even though they can’t see him a majority of the time. Alex has people in his so-called “afterlife” that will be there to celebrate Christmas with him, so he won’t have to go through it alone. Yeah, Christmas will definitely suck knowing that he’s dead, but at least he can experience it with a family that he’s created.

Willie doesn’t have that. As far as Alex knows, he’s all Willie’s got.

Alex imagines him, sitting outside of his house on a cold winter night, watching his family celebrate Christmas without him. He imagines Willie witness the cheer of lifers all around him, caroling from door to door, carrying mugs of hot chocolate in their mittens, having a reason to be happy around the holidays.

The worst part of it all is imagining Willie doing these things _alone_.

And then there’s Caleb. Willie might have spent a majority of his Christmases with Caleb, but what was Caleb to him, really? A friend? A father-figure? A boss? The thing is, none of those things can exist now, now that Caleb lost his trust. Willie isn’t even supposed to be here with Alex in the first place. If Caleb were to find out that he’s here…

He suddenly feels sick.

“…plus, skateboarding on ice is the sickest thing ever. I never tried it when I was alive, for obvious reasons, but now that I’m dead? I can skate on ice as much as I want and won’t get a single scratch. It’s kinda hard to slow down, though…” Willie says, trailing off. He notices the frown in Alex’s features as he gazes into the distance. Was he even listening?

“Uh, Alex? You okay?”

Willie’s voice snaps him out of his thoughts. “Hm? Oh, yeah, yeah, sorry.” He sits up, brushing his hair out of his face. Willie follows suit, sitting up next to him and scooting a little closer. They both gaze out onto the city below them, watching as lifers go about their day without a care in the world. As if they can live forever.

“What were you thinking about?” Willie asks him.

This time, Alex has to be honest. He can’t handle the thought of Willie being alone. Ever. He doesn’t even care that he spits it out faster than his tongue will let him. “We’ll be together for Christmas, right?”

Willie opens his mouth a little and his eyebrows crunch together as if he was shocked by his words. “Oh. I mean, sure. If that’s what you want, Alex. Of course.”

“That’s what I want. Is that what you want?”

A smile starts to form on Willie’s face. Yes, _that_ is what Alex wants. “Yeah. I’d love to spend it with you. As long as it’s cool with your friends.”

“Are you kidding? They love you more than me. Of course they’ll be cool with it.”

The blush on Willie’s cheeks almost seems to glow pink. “I hope so.”

*

After Willie and Alex decided it was best to head back home, they walked into the garage to see what the others were up to. There, they discovered Julie, Flynn, Luke, Carrie, Nick, and Reggie all lounging on the furniture, seemingly waiting for something. Or someone, for that matter. Flynn, Nick, and Julie were taking pictures together on their phones while Luke and Reggie strummed harmonious notes on their guitars.

Carrie picked at her nails before sighing. “Alright. I think we should just start. We are now commencing the draw for the Secret Santa gift exchange!”

Flynn snorts. “This isn’t the Olympic Games, Carrie. And don’t worry, they’ll be here.”

Carrie gives her a hard glare as she picks up a Santa hat next to her and seemingly mixes up the little slips of paper inside.

Alex smirks at the exchange and decides to make their presence known. “Did I miss something here?”

Julie, Luke, and Reggie collectively turn their heads to the two of them standing in the doorway. Luke immediately jumps up from the couch and bounces over to Alex, slapping him on the shoulder. “Well, finally! I told you guys they would take forever. Probably off sucking face somewhere. You about missed the most important gift exchange drawing _ever_.”

Now _that_ was over the line. Luke absolutely knew what he was doing, and Alex just _knew_ that his own face was as red as the Santa hat in Carrie’s hands. Alex rolled his eyes at the remark, because obviously, that’s not what happened, but he snuck a glance at Willie anyway. He was looking down at his pigeon-toed sneakers, face pink with a small smile. Luke is _so_ getting a slap later for embarrassing him. He tried to change the subject as fast as he could.

“Wow. What a shame it would’ve been if we missed it. Everyone looks so thrilled,” Alex deadpans, earning another smack from Luke. He laughs. “Alright, well, we’re here, aren’t we? And I don’t remember anyone saying anything to me about a gift exchange.”

Julie groans. “Reggie. Did you forget to tell Alex about this? You had _one_ job.”

Reggie puts his hands up in surrender. “What? It was _your_ idea. And…I may have been caught up in helping Carlos with his gingerbread house that I forgot to mention it to him.”

Another collective groan from the group. Julie shakes her head and tells Flynn, Carrie, and Nick that all the boys were here now.

Carrie claps her hands. “Perfect! Alex, here, you go first.” She holds out the hat in front of her, but it’s nowhere near him. He chuckles before walking closer to her and picking out a little slip of paper.

Alex _really_ wants to get Willie. He doesn’t even know if they put Willie’s name in here, but if they didn’t, Alex was going to change whoever he had to Willie’s name, anyway. He didn’t care if it broke the rules. He was _going_ to be his Secret Santa, one way or another.

He fiddles with the slip of paper until, finally, he’s able to get it open. _Flynn._

Alex didn’t want to say he was disappointed, but he was disappointed. He absolutely _adored_ Flynn, and she was one of his best friends. If the situation wasn’t so dire to make sure Willie has the best Christmas ever, he probably would’ve been excited about getting her name. But this wasn’t a part of the plan. He had to come up with something.

Alex watched as everyone took their turns picking out their slips of paper out of the hat. Carrie stopped in front of Willie, too, so Julie must have asked her to write his name down. Good.

Once Carrie is the last one to fish around in the hat and take a peek at hers, it’s settled. Everyone has their Secret Santa.

But Alex has an idea. He was watching Julie as she opened hers, and her eyes flashed directly to Willie, technically meaning she could have gotten him. And Alex knows for a _fact_ that Julie was desperate to get Flynn something special for Christmas; she was telling him about it a couple of nights ago when Alex was playing with her hair.

So, Alex’s plan is quite simple, really. He was going to ask Julie to switch Secret Santa’s with him, and if it works, everything else would fall into place nicely—Flynn would receive the best present given to her by her best friend, and Willie would love him forever. Maybe. Possibly. Alex is hoping.

Carrie was eager to set Christmas lights up around the garage. She said it would make the place look merrier, to which everyone agreed, so Julie went to go get Ray so he could grab a ladder. Luke argued that there was no need for a ladder when there were four perfectly capable ghosts right here to help, and he’s not wrong. They couldn’t float like Caleb, but they could poof to higher places, at least.

Julie gave them all a pointed look and came back with a ladder so that her, Flynn, Nick, and Carrie could handle one side of the garage while the boys did the other.

This was Alex’s chance. While everyone grabbed handfuls of lights and nails, Alex crept over to Julie setting up the ladder and tapped on her shoulder. She gave him a side glance but was mainly focused on watching her steps as she climbed up. “Yeah? What’s up, Alex?”

“Hey, Julie. I was wondering. Who...who did you happen to get for your Secret Santa?”

She stops mid-step and turns with a smug look on her face. “You want Willie, don’t you?”

Alex about chokes. “What—how did you—?”

Julie crosses her arms and laughs. “Because I know you, Alex. And I know that you would want to be the one to get Willie something.”

He pauses for a second before accepting it. “Yeah. Yeah, I want Willie.”

She smirks and signals for him to pass her the nails. “I may be of service to you. Who do you have for me?”

“Flynn,” Alex says and watches as her eyes grow wide.

“Say no more.”

He smiles and they shake hands. Willie was going to have the best Christmas ever if it was the last thing Alex was going to do.


	2. a day at the skatepark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> willie teaches alex how to skateboard. an unexpected someone shows up from willie's past, putting a hold on their perfect day. alex tries to make sense of it all.

Skateboarding is a lot harder than it looks, Alex realizes.

With everyone off at school, Alex decided to meet Willie at his favorite skate park. It’s been abandoned for some time now, hence the graffiti and the overgrowing weeds in the cracked pavement, but that doesn’t stop Willie from using it to its full potential.

Alex loves to come here with him. He loves to be a part of anything that has to do with his past. Willie said that when he was alive, this place used to be packed with skaters, each one just hoping to get a chance to show off their new skills. It’s kind of sad to see how the place has become forgotten about and devoured by vegetation, but maybe that’s why Willie likes it so much. Maybe he can relate to the park because, in a way, they’re both dead and yet alive in certain areas.

Alex can also relate to the sad park. He, too, feels like he’s slowly being eaten alive by oblivion.

And _this_ is when he needs to take a breath. God. What was wrong with him? Does he need to be a downer about everything? Anxiety just won’t leave him alone, will it?

Especially right now, where he finds himself standing on top of Willie’s skateboard, hands grappling onto his arms for support.

“Don’t let go!” he shouts, his knees wobbling forward and backward with every movement. He isn’t sure if it’s still possible, but he quite possibly could be leaving bruises on Willie’s skin from the amount of pressure he’s applying.

Of course, Willie laughs at him. “We’ve barely moved, ‘Lex. And even if you do fall, nothing will happen. It’s just your past-life body still used to your reflexes.”

Alex grumbles. He’s right. He knows he’s right, but it still doesn’t help the fact that he could fall flat on his face. “Okay, Mr. Allstar. How long have you been skating, again?”

Willie raises his eyebrows with an amused gaze. “Do you want me to let go?”

“No! No. I’m sorry, I’ll be nice,” Alex rushes, gripping onto him even tighter.

Willie laughs again and moves them a little faster. Oh, man. This was a bad idea. He’s going to wipe out and embarrass himself, he can feel it.

“I’m gonna fall. I’m gonna fall and you’re going to laugh at me.”

“And when that happens, you can teach me how to play the drums and watch me completely butcher it. Which, by the way, is going to be _way_ more embarrassing.”

He loves how Willie always has to make him feel comfortable in any situation, even one as ridiculous as this. He probably looks like a baby giraffe standing up for the first time, and yet, Willie is rubbing his thumb softly along Alex’s skin to calm him down. His stomach is swirling around in a way that is making him giddy even though he knows he’ll be eating concrete any second now. Alex is having a _really_ hard time focusing, okay?

“Alright. I’m going to let go now, okay?” Willie says.

Alex’s eyes move up from the ground sharply to meet his, and Willie gives his arms a light squeeze because of the panicked look on his face. His smile is reassuring when he says, “You got this, remember?”

Alex thinks back to when they went to the museum and Willie said something similar to that. At the time, it instantly made him feel better and the same goes for how he’s feeling right now. A sudden wash of solace rushes down his spine and he doesn’t feel so scared anymore. Alex hesitates, but then nods slowly. He can do this. So what if he biffs it? He won’t feel it anyway. And, besides, Willie will be there to run to his aid, looking like an absolute _god_ with the wind blowing through his hair and—hm. Maybe he’ll biff it on purpose just so he can see that?

Willie gently releases his hold on him and Alex, surprisingly, doesn’t fall over, which is something that he can be proud of. He’s shaky, sure, but that’s okay. Holding his breath, he picks up his foot and brushes it across the pavement, driving him to push faster, the air picking up around him. He can hear Willie cheering for him somewhere, but Alex just keeps going, praying that he won’t make a fool out of himself.

Since he’s just starting out, Willie told him to stay along the smooth pavement and avoid the areas where the ground transitions into deep bowls. Not that he would even try that _—that_ would be a disaster—but Alex quickly notices that there isn’t much of a solid ground in the first place to _stay_ on. There are tons of potholes and bumps that make the skateboard jerk under his feet, and he can gradually feel himself starting to lose control. Up ahead, he spots a huge crack that is just begging for him to cross over it and to see what happens. As Alex goes to stop or turn, he suddenly realizes he doesn’t know _how._

Well. That’s that. He’s done for. Instead of even trying to confront the large crack, Alex jumps off the board altogether. Landing with a big _thud_ , his feet try their hardest to keep him steady as they desperately attempt to create a form of traction. Alex shuts his eyes tight in fear of falling, but at this point, he knows it’s inevitable. He lets himself succumb to gravity, bracing for the worst, but to no surprise, he feels nothing as he hits the ground. Nothing other than a small pressure against his torso. If he’s being honest, he’s just glad it didn’t feel anything like Caleb’s jolts.

He hears Willie shout his name and watches as he runs straight to him, his hair flowing like a voluminous cloud of beauty behind him and—yeah. Totally worth it.

When Willie reaches him, the concern on his face is hard to miss. “Alex, are you okay?”

Alex can’t help but burst into a fit of giggles. “I’m good. Nothing happened other than me looking like an idiot. Why are you worried?”

“Can’t be too sure about anything,” Willie says, a smile overtaking the distress. He joins into the laughter, and the both of them soon find themselves holding their stomachs and wiping tears from their eyes. “It was pretty funny watching you fall. You didn’t even try to stop, you just dived!”

Another convulsion of laughter rolls through him at the idea of him flailing. “I know!”

As they settle down, Willie holds out his hand and Alex takes it, letting him pull him up and away from his destroyed dignity on the concrete. Willie then grabs his jean jacket and shakes him. “Hey. You did it!”

Alex can’t believe it either, honestly. He skated. He’s going to ignore whatever in the hell that landing was, but he skated. “Yeah, I did. Thanks to you. Although, maybe teaching me how to stop probably would’ve been helpful.”

Willie grimaces. “Yeah, I sort of remembered that the moment I let go. But I hoped that you would figure it out. That, uh, obviously didn’t work.”

Alex smirks and nods his head slowly. “Yeah, thanks for that,” he says sarcastically.

Their laughs begin to fizzle out, and a silence then settles around them, but it wasn’t awkward. Instead, it was nice and comforting, like a fresh breath of morning air in the summertime. It was something he longed for a lot, especially at times when he felt like he couldn’t breathe.

That’s just the thing. Whenever he was around Willie, he felt so _happy_ and he felt like he could do anything, like being on top of a mountain—quite literally—or try skateboarding for the first time. He made Alex forget about the fact that he was a ghost, he made him forget about his anxiety, he made him forget about the _world_ in general, and he didn’t want to lose that. He _couldn’t._

Something powerful overcame him just then. It was warm and it made his chest fill with a sort of treacly, gooey sensation that made his insides tingle. He was kind of scared of what it was, but he couldn’t help but find it reassuring.

Willie was looking at him with so much intensity _,_ too, whether it be fond or adoration or _something_ , that Alex could feel the look in his _bones_ and he just—he couldn’t stop himself.

He kissed him.

It was quick. It maybe lasted for only a couple of seconds, but god, Alex was floating. Willie’s lips were soft and wet and seemed to fit perfectly with Alex’s, and he was starting to come to the realization that the aching in his chest must’ve had something to do with love. Because if that’s what it was, he definitely felt it when his lips touched Willie’s.

Once he pulled back, though, there was no going back. He couldn’t change what he just did. _Oh, no._

He just messed it all up. Their friendship, their _whatever_ they had—it’s all out in the open now. The panic on his face must’ve been clear as day, but he doesn’t even care. Alex ruined it. He couldn’t control himself for one second and he _ruined_ it.

Willie looks just as shocked as Alex is. His mouth is open a little and he’s searching Alex’s eyes desperately for an explanation, but he doesn’t have one. Not one that would explain how that was platonic in any way, shape, or form _._ Friends don’t do that. _They_ don’t do that—they haven’t even acknowledged their feelings for each other yet, if Willie even has any for him at all. He probably thinks he’s disturbed. Mentally ill. A disgusting crime to humanity, just like his parents did. The sickening feeling in his stomach is starting back up again.

“I’m—” Alex starts. His hands are trembling, and he can’t believe he just ruined the one good thing that he had. “I’m sorry, I—I didn’t—”

But before he could finish his sentence, Willie does something that shocks him even more. He takes Alex’s face in his hands and kisses him back.

He can sense the emotion pouring out of Willie by the way that he stands on his tiptoes and his hands gently but firmly cradles his jaw, caressing the small hairs at the back of his head. Alex is stunned. It takes him a second for his brain to start working again, but he quickly lets himself melt into the kiss. He grabs onto Willie’s waist and tugs him even closer, gravitating towards his magnetic pull and taking in everything that he is.

Alex didn’t think it was possible, but kissing him a second time was even better than the first. The ecstasy that overwhelmed him and fogged over in his mind was a feeling that he couldn’t put into words. It consumed him, completely. And he didn’t ever want it to stop.

But, of course, it did. Willie was the first to pull back, and even then, he didn’t pull away completely. He rested his forehead against Alex’s, catching his breath and letting his hands fall down to Alex’s chest, lightly resting on the soft fabric. Alex covered his hands over Willie’s, letting their fingers intertwine as he focused on his own intake of air, as well. He couldn’t help but notice the way the sun shone in Willie’s eyes at that moment, illuminating their dark brown hue to a state of golden copper. He was absolutely breathtaking.

“You’re shaking,” Willie frowns, examining Alex’s fingers in his.

Alex lets out a dry laugh, feeling a bit sheepish. He shrugs. “You make me nervous.”

Willie does his little eyebrow thing. “Ah. Is that a good nervous or a bad nervous?”

“Good. Always good.”

“Well, then. You make me nervous, too.” He says, straightening Alex’s fanny pack and giving it a light pat.

And just like that, they were back. Everything felt normal, nothing was weird between them, and most importantly, Willie actually let Alex _kiss_ him and he didn’t seem to feel ashamed about it. Alex felt like he was playing at the Orpheum with Julie and the boys all over again. The rush that he endured was making him see stars.

But, what was this? What were _they?_ Were they just friends that kissed on occasion, or does this not change anything between them? Would they keep this a secret, or would they tell everyone? Did Willie like him, or was he just messing around to see what it felt like to kiss a guy? So many questions were running through his head, and Alex didn’t know where to begin. He needed to choose his next words carefully so that he didn’t ruin the nice moment they were having.

Alex opened up his mouth to form a sentence, but he barely got out a word before another voice called out from behind them.

“Willie?”

The voice was deep and rich, but hesitant, as if the person that it belonged to wasn’t sure if what they were seeing was real. Alex’s only line of vision currently was Willie, so he moved his head to the right to see who it was.

The guy was walking—no, running—towards them, a massive smile on his face that only grew wider the closer he got. He was pale, his skin practically glowing white, and it contrasted sharply with his black hair and clothing. When he reached them, Alex was able to get a better look at him.

He towered over the both of them—that’s how tall he was. I mean, Alex was tall, so the fact that he had to look up to meet this guy’s eyes said something. Willie’s head alone reached a little higher than his shoulder if he wanted to compare height differences. Alex suddenly felt an urge to protect him, and he didn’t know where it came from.

Not only was this guy tall and lanky, but he was covered in tattoos. Alex was sort of struggling to find a bare place on his body besides his face that wasn’t stippled in ink. On top of that, he had a silver nose ring and fingernails that were painted black to match his leather jacket, jeans, boots, and shaggy comb-over. The only color that he really had on him was a white graphic tee underneath and teeth that could blind someone if they stared too hard. Well, that, and his piercing blue eyes.

“Andy?” Willie breathes.

Looks like he didn’t need to say anything to ruin their moment after all. Andy already did that for them. To be honest, Andy was basically a dark, gothic version of Alex. He felt like a total dweeb standing next to him.

Alex _wanted_ to step up and say, “You two know each other?” to lighten the mood, because they were both just standing there with an equal amount of shock that Alex thought they would turn into statues any minute. But he was too intimidated by Andy and his perfect face to say anything at all.

Alex remembers Julie trying to teach him “text language.” On her phone, there was a whole list of smiley faces and tiny people to use with the text to accentuate your message before you sent it. He thinks Julie called them “emojis.” There were a couple of them on her backpack, too. But there was a specific one that was of a man standing with his arms at his sides and it made him laugh to think about how awkward it looked.

Alex was _that_ emoji. The awkward guy standing with his hands at his sides, not knowing what to do with himself.

“What—you—” Willie starts, looking him up and down. “You _died?”_

Andy smirks and a dimple pops out on his cheek. “I guess you could say that, yeah.”

Oh, come _on_. Dimples, too? That wasn’t fair.

“How? When?” Willie asks.

Andy scratches the back of his head. “Um, well, a couple of years after you did. It—it was stupid. A couple of buddies and I were out one night, messing around, and they dared me to jump off a bridge. I guess no one really measured how deep the water was, so.”

“Oh my god,” Willie says, his and Alex’s mouths both hanging wide open.

Andy shrugs. “Yeah. It’s doesn’t really matter, though. I’m just so glad to see you. I didn’t think I would see anyone that I knew ever again.”

He was smiling at Willie like he just discovered gold. Which, yeah, Willie _was_ amazing, but the eagerness of this guy only managed to stir something inside of Alex that made him squirm.

“I’m, uh—yeah, I didn’t either,” Willie replies, smiling a little. Alex was the only one to notice, but the smile didn’t quite fully reach his eyes. Something was off about it, but he didn’t know what.

Willie turns his head to look back at Alex, finally acknowledging his presence. He steps to the side so that there was a collective triangle between them all. “Oh, um, Andy, this is Alex. Alex, Andy.”

Andy makes a fist and holds out his arm so he could bump it with Alex’s. “Hey, man.”

Hm. So that’s where Willie gets that from. Alex returns the arm-bump and tries to match his smile. “Hey.”

Willie notices Alex’s uneasiness and tries to lighten up the conversation. “Andy was one of my closest friends before I died. He was the one who taught me how to skate.”

Alex doesn’t miss the strange face Andy makes at Willie when he says that, but he decides to let it go when Willie seemingly ignores it. “Here?” Alex asks, gesturing to the park.

“Oh, no. I found this place on my own. Andy taught me at my parent’s house.”

Okay. So not only did this guy die on a cool dare while Alex literally died by eating a _hotdog,_ but he also was the one to teach Willie everything he knew about skateboarding. Did he used to drive a sports car, too? Have a snake as a pet?

Andy nods at Willie’s skateboard that was sitting at the bottom of the concrete bowl from Alex’s wipeout. “Hey, your old skateboard. It came with you,” he says. His face then falls. “Oh. Sorry, was I interrupting something? Were you guys doing some tricks before I showed up?”

Willie and Alex both look at each other. Sure. They were doing some tricks. Totally not having their first kiss or anything.

Surprisingly, Alex is the first one to slowly move his eyes away from Willie’s and break the silence. “Uh, yeah. Yup. That’s what we were doing. Some tricks.”

_Nice one, Alex._

Willie saves him from his own embarrassment. As usual. “Y-Yeah, I was just teaching Alex some new moves on my board. He’s still pretty new at it, obviously.” He says, pointing to the lone skateboard miles away from them.

Andy stays quiet as he studies the two of them. He then exchanges a look with Willie, as if they both had some secret that Alex didn’t know about.

Alex didn’t like that.

It seems as if Willie didn’t like it, either. He breaks the stare with him and sighs, rocking back and forth on his heels. “So. What are you doing here?”

Andy looks around at the overgrown park. He focuses on a stray dandelion peeking out of a crack, lightly swaying in the breeze. “Looking for you, actually. If it’s okay, I was wondering if we could talk.”

Oh. Okay. That means alone. Without Alex.

This tall, dark, and handsome Andy, that was apparently a big part of Willie’s past, just waltzes up and decides that he needs to talk to Willie about something important, but Alex didn’t even get a chance to talk to Willie about what their _very first kiss_ meant to them. And it happened not even, like, five minutes ago.

It’s just.

It’s just that he’s been waiting for their relationship to make it to this point for so _long_ , and now that it has, he wants Willie all to himself for just a little while.

Does that make him selfish?

“Oh. Um,” Willie begins, a frown appearing on his face. He looks at Alex, and then at Andy. “Can you give us a second?”

“Uh, yeah, sure,” He answers, then pauses. “If it’s a bad time, I can always just—”

“No,” Alex interrupts. “No, it’s fine. I’ll—I can leave.”

He means that. And not in a bad way, either. As much as Alex wants to spend time with Willie, he suddenly realizes that this is the _only_ person in Willie’s past that has come back into his life. And they came straight to _him_ , for that matter. If it were Alex, and someone from his past-life showed up, he would want some time and answers with that person, too. He can’t be in the way of this, especially if it were to make Willie happy. He would feel awful.

“Alex—” Willie says, his eyes in a full-blown panic.

Alex places a gentle hand on Willie’s wrist, softly rubbing his thumb against his skin to let him know that he was okay with it. “It’s okay. Really. Julie’s probably getting home from school, anyway. I should be heading back before the boys start to put up missing posters or something.”

Relief floods through Willie’s face, but he still doesn’t look fully convinced. He takes Alex’s hand and drags them a couple of yards away to get more privacy. Alex peers over at Andy and notices that he was watching them closely.

“Alex, are you sure? I can tell him to meet me another time and we can go somewhere to talk, or—” Willie says, not letting go of Alex’s hand. He tightens his grip, actually.

Once again, Alex interrupts him. “It’s _fine_ , Willie. We can always talk later. I mean, I was a little upset at first, but then I realized he was your friend when you were _alive_. It must be so rare for us to run into people that we know when we’re living as _ghosts._ Besides, it seems like he really wants to talk to you about something. He ran all the way here.”

Willie sighs. “Yeah. You’re right. I’m happy to see him, I just—I feel like I know what he’s going to talk to me about.”

Alex frowns. “What do you mean?”

“Well…” He winces. “A couple of months before I died, we got into a fight and left things on bad terms. I…I broke up with him.”

The nonexistent air inside of Alex’s lungs shrivels up and dissipates. “You were dating?”

He bites his lip. “Yeah.”

“Oh.”

 _That_ changes things a little bit. It shouldn’t, because Alex and Willie aren’t even exclusively dating themselves, but it does.

Because they only just shared their first kiss. They only just started _actually_ developing feelings for each other, and all of that could possibly change if Andy told Willie that he still had feelings for him, or that he wanted to get back together, or _something_. Alex didn’t know _._ That’s what scared him.

And Andy is, well, really attractive, to put it at most, and Alex would be lying if he said that he didn’t feel a teensy bit jealous. Mostly by the fact that he had gotten the chance to be with Willie before he did.

Willie squeezes his hand with the next sentence. “But that was a long time ago. I was a different person back then, and I don’t feel that way about him anymore.”

Alex lifts his head up. “You…you don’t?”

Willie scoffs and shakes his head, smiling. “No, Alex. I broke up with him for a reason. Besides, I like someone else. Someone with cute blonde hair and who I can mis-match my socks with.”

At the same time, they glance down at their matching eggs and bacon socks. Alex feels a warm heat rising up in his cheeks as Willie’s words generate in his mind.

Willie likes him.

Willie…likes him?

_Willie likes him._

“You like me?” Alex murmurs bashfully.

He rolls his eyes. “Obviously. I wouldn’t have kissed you if I didn’t, you himbo.”

Tingles travel up his spine as Alex sways in place, a blissful smile forming as he stares off into the distance. “Hmm. Julie calls me that sometimes.”

Willie takes a step closer and brushes Alex’s hair out of his face. “As she should. You are one.”

He can’t concentrate on anything other than how hot his face is feeling. He even forgets about Andy standing meters behind them, most likely watching their every move. And he doesn’t even care. _Willie likes him._

“I am,” he laughs. It transitions into a satisfied sigh and he lifts up one shoulder to shrug. “So…are we good? I’ll see you later?”

“Yeah. We’re good. I’ll see you later, hotdog.” Willie reaches up and gives him a light peck on the cheek.

Alex stares as he smiles and walks backward slowly away from him, waiting until the very last minute to let go of his hand before turning around and walking over to Andy. Of course, Andy just happened to be staring at them.

Willie drops down into the concrete bowl to grab his skateboard, and once his back is turned, Andy turns to Alex and gives him the deadliest glare he’d ever seen. A cold chill ran through his veins as his eyes sent daggers straight towards him. It only lasted for a second, as Willie had stood up and turned back around, but _man_ , was he angry. 

Alex panicked and poofed out of there so fast, that when he landed back at the garage, he miscalculated his footing and fell straight to the ground, right in front of Julie, Luke, and Reggie.

“What the—? Alex?” Julie gasps, her face startled before relaxing into relief. “Where were you? My god, do I need to start putting a tracking device on all three of you?”

Alex takes a second to recover before stumbling up off of the ground. “Dead. I’m dead.”

All three of them gape at him like he grew a second head. Luke blinks. “Yeah. We know, Alex. We all are.”

Julie stares at him.

“Okay, not _all_ of us,” He says. “But what’s your deal, man? You’re late for band rehearsal.”

Alex starts pacing. Luke throws his hands up in the air.

“What’s he doing?” Julie asks.

“His model strut. He does this whenever he’s freaking out,” Reggie explains. “Alex, seriously, what’s wrong with you?”

“I’m dead, you guys. I am _so dead_. He’s gonna kill me, oh my god. No—first, he’s gonna torture me, and _then_ he’s gonna kill me.”

“Woah, woah, woah. Hold up. First, you can’t die, Alex. You’re already dead. Second, who’s gonna kill you? I thought you were with Willie?” Julie asks.

Reggie and Luke exchange a worried look. “You don’t think—?”

Julie whips her head back and forth between the two of them. “What?”

Luke slowly turns towards him. “Alex. Did Caleb find out about Willie helping us? Did he do something to him? Is he coming _here?”_

Alex snaps out of it. “What? No. Screw Caleb, this guy is _worse_ than Caleb. And he’s probably gonna come after _me_.”

“Worse than Caleb? I don’t know, those jolts were pretty bad,” Reggie says. “Plus, he can float.” Luke and Julie mutter agreements.

“ _Guys_. You’re not _listening_ to me. I was with Willie and he was teaching me how to skate and then I fell and Willie laughed at me and we both started laughing and then we kissed and then this guy shows up outta nowhere, this _tall_ _guy_ with a _bunch_ of tattoos, claiming he knows Willie, and at first I thought, ‘well, maybe he’s not so bad,’ but then—”

“Wait. You and Willie kissed?” Luke asks.

Alex stops. “Uh. Maybe?”

A collective gasp erupts from the group. All at once, he hears cries of joy break out—Julie squealing, Reggie yelling nonsense into the air and exploding into some strange, sort of breakdance, and Luke letting out a couple of “whoops” before hopping over to him, squeezing his shoulders. He doesn’t really know how to handle all of the sudden attention, so he kind of just smiles shyly while they all take turns congratulating him.

“Thanks, guys,” he says, actually forgetting for a second why he was so worried. Then he remembers. “No, wait, this is serious. Andy hates me.”

Luke shrivels up his face. “Pfft, Andy? Hey, what’s that movie about toys that came out like a month or so before we died? Remember, Reggie, you made us go with you to see it? Toy Store, or something like that?”

“Oh, yeah! Was it Toy Store? Or, no, was it The Toy Store—?”

Julie rolls her eyes. “Toy Story,” she says flatly.

“Yeah, that’s it! Toy Story,” Luke confirms, happy that they got it. “Wait, who’s Andy again?”

Alex is going to die just listening to them. “Oh my god. Okay. Andy is the guy I’m telling you about. He showed up after Willie and I kissed, remember?”

Luke nods. “Right, right. Big scary guy with tattoos. Go on.”

“Anyway, so Andy shows up seconds afterwards and says he needs to talk to Willie about something. At first, I was like, ‘he kind of ruined the moment we were having, but it’s fine because he’s Willie’s friend,’ and so I told Willie that when he moved us away from Andy so we could talk. But it turns out that he’s his _ex-boyfriend._ Back from the dead, apparently.”

Julie still isn’t quite getting it. “So, what does that have to do with him hating you? What did you do?”

“ _I_ didn’t do anything. At least, I don’t think I did. Willie kissed my cheek goodbye in front of him and when Willie’s back was turned, Andy gave me the biggest death glare I’ve ever seen. It freaked me out. I poofed out and then came here.”

“Awww,” Julie coos, “he kissed you goodbye?”

Alex eyeballs her. “Um, yeah, he did, but are none of you concerned about the fact that he’s going to _kill_ _me?”_

Luke pats his arm reassuringly. “He’s not going to kill you, Alex. Even if he tried, he couldn’t. Besides, Willie wouldn’t let that happen, and neither would we.”

That calms him down a little. But it still doesn’t help that Willie is there with him right now. Were they talking about him? Was Andy trying to convince him that Alex was wrong for him?

“What if…what if Willie starts hanging out with him again and then decides that he still has feelings for him?”

Julie also tries to relax him by putting a warm hand on his. He’s still not used to her touch yet, so every time she does, it’s light and sends a calming essence over his body like the stroke of a feather against his cheek. They’re so lucky that they have her.

“Alex. You just told us Willie kissed you. Plus, he risked his soul to help you. To help all of you, actually, and he still is. So, I think you should let him do what he needs to do without worrying about it too much. And if this Andy guy does have a problem with you, who cares? You have Willie and he doesn’t. He lost that chance the minute they broke up.”

Julie’s right. She’s always right. He had to trust Willie. He might not like Andy, but Willie has been nothing but gentle and caring towards him about this whole thing. There shouldn’t be anything to worry about. 

“I know, you’re right. I’m sorry,” he sighs. “I just…think too much sometimes.”

She smiles and lifts up his chin. “Hey. It’s okay. I get it. ”

He grins back. “Thanks, Julie. You too, guys.”

They hug, then dive right into the rehearsal, writing new songs together and practicing for a new gig that Flynn and Ray managed to book for them. It wasn’t as big as the Orpheum, but it was pretty close. A decent-sized venue, at least.

Alex felt a lot better. He loves his friends so much, and they always know how to calm him down in a way that felt rejuvenating. Even if Andy didn’t like him one hundred percent, he felt pretty content about how things went. _Willie likes him._ That’s all that matters.

It was going to be okay.


	3. christmas shopping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> luke, reggie, and alex head out in the town to go christmas shopping. they see something that they weren't supposed to and decide to check it out. things start go downhill.

Shopping for a present was going to be the death of him. If he wasn’t already dead, that is.

Since when did searching for someone’s Christmas present get harder and harder each year? Alex swears, if shopping was as easy today like it was back in the 90’s, like everyone _actually_ going into the stores to buy their presents instead of going online, it would be so much easier. He doesn’t know how to work a computer correctly, let alone an iPhone. He’s still trying to wrap his head around the fact that it’s practically a tiny robot that you carry around in your pocket.

So, with that being said, he ignored Julie’s suggestions of shopping online for a gift for Willie. There was no way he was going to figure that out, especially when she’s at school and can’t help him. Luke _says_ that he’s got it figured out, but Alex knows he’s lying. Every time Luke uses Julie’s laptop, there’s always multiple screens popping up that read “error.”

And, yeah, sure, there was that time when they managed to use one when they were booking their gig for the Orpheum, but that was only because Julie spent an hour teaching Alex the step-by-step process. He couldn’t remember any of that now if he tried.

That’s where Alex finds himself walking the streets of Hollywood with Luke and Reggie, scoping out for stores that would sell anything special for their Secret Santa’s. He asked Willie if he wanted to come with, but he said that he was hanging out with Andy today. That definitely stung when he heard that, but he tried to see the brighter side of things. This way is better, right? Willie would know what he got him if he tagged along, and that wouldn’t be much fun if he found out that Alex was his Secret Santa, now would it?

He’s fine. Alex is _fine._ Peachy, even.

Anyway.

The only problem with shopping in public is that they’re _very_ much dead and can’t exactly shop like regular customers. Julie warned them about this, saying that they had to be very careful about where they go and how they do things. Especially with cameras everywhere nowadays watching your every move. She told them they could shop to find what they were looking for, but instructed them specifically to tell her or Flynn where to find the presents so they could buy them.

Of course, Luke and Reggie were pretty upset about this, grumbling about how they now had the perfect opportunity to steal without any bad consequences and that her or Flynn buying the presents for them would ruin the spirit of things, but Julie wasn’t having it. Which, Alex understood. People needed money for the holidays, and they wouldn’t be able to buy anything for their families if they lost their jobs due to some unexplainable forces making merchandise disappear. Plus, there wasn’t a whole lot they could do about it unless they wanted to expose themselves.

Although, the only thing worse than exposing themselves was having to deal with Luke and Reggie’s short attention spans. They kept getting distracted in _every single store_ they went into.

Luke found a really cool record shop with hundreds and hundreds of vinyls, all categorized alphabetically by name, and he spent about an hour telling Alex about which ones he knew and which ones he didn’t. The store _did_ have some sick posters that they would have killed to have when they were alive, though.

Reggie also made them stop at a hidden candy store on the corner, which was filled with old, vintage candies and nick-nacks. And even though it _was_ pretty awesome, it was hard to keep track of the both of them running down the aisles, awestruck by the amounts of sugar on the shelves. Alex even caught Reggie trying to sneak a bite of chocolate and had to slap him on the wrist to drop it. However, the only good that did was leave a little girl screaming and running to her mother at the sight of the candy bar falling from mid-air. They quickly decided that it was best to leave.

In the end, Luke found a journal and some markers for Julie to doodle with, Reggie claimed that he was still looking, but Alex swore he saw him peeking at some guitar picks at the record shop, so he must have gotten Luke, and Alex? Alex was still empty-handed.

He just couldn’t find that _perfect_ gift for Willie. He was thinking about getting him some more socks, because, you know, socks are his thing. But at the same time, they’re _socks._ It just wasn’t quite special enough. He wanted Willie to jump for joy at the sight of his gift and maybe, quite possibly, cry. Not that he wants him to cry, but. The thought of it being because of Alex’s gift is nice.

He was about to suggest they try another store when Luke smacks him hard against his chest.

“Ow! What the hell, Luke?” Alex says, rubbing the tender spot.

He ignores him, pointing at the figure across the street. “Guys, isn’t that Nick?”

Reggie and Alex both follow Luke’s line of vision to see none other than Nick, Julie’s friend from school, stopped outside of a flower shop and poking around at all the different kinds of arrangements placed on display.

Reggie nods. “Oh, yeah. Shouldn’t he be in school right now?”

They watch as Nick glances over both of his shoulders, grabs a bouquet, and walks off down the street as if nothing happened.

“Did he just—?” Alex sputters, not believing his eyes. He just witnessed that, correct? They all just witnessed a theft take place? He played it off well, too, because not a single person, other than them, noticed it.

“Yeah. Yeah, he did,” Reggie says, frowning. “What kind of guy steals flowers?”

“Wait, you guys, didn’t Julie say something about him coming over to give her flowers? Like, a couple of weeks ago?” Luke asks. “Why would he keep buying her more? And _steal_ them, for that matter?”

Reggie ponders for a moment. “Maybe…maybe he just really likes her?”

Luke shrugs. “I guess, but he just seems so nice and goody-two-shoes whenever we’re with him,” He says, shaking his head. “He just doesn’t seem like the type to steal or play hooky.”

Alex continues to study Nick as he hurries down the street, about to turn a corner. “Where is he going?”

“I don’t know, but we’re going to find out,” Luke says, nudging for them to follow and taking off after him.

The three of them silently keep a safe distance behind Nick, blending in with lifers even though he can’t _technically_ see them if he decides to turn around, but some habits never die, he supposes. They follow him down crosswalks, sidewalks, crowds of people, and even alleyways, but he just keeps walking and walking and _walking_.

Nick then begins to lead them down avenues and street names that are starting to look vaguely familiar, but Alex can’t really recall what was familiar about it. All he knows is that he remembers being here before.

“Um, you guys?” Alex whispers, secretly hoping he wasn’t the only one that was having these strange flashbacks.

“Yeah, I don’t think that we should—” Luke begins, but cuts off as soon as they turn a corner and run into a gigantic, Victorian building standing right in the middle of the Hollywood boulevard. The dark, smoky colors of the walls span out wide across the ground and upwards towards the sky in pointed cones like a castle straight out of the middle ages.

The Hollywood Ghost Club. In all of its glory.

Alex forgot how big it was, considering he spent most of his time inside a small section of it. He should’ve seen this coming, really.

“What’s Nick doing here?” Reggie questions, confusion taking over his features.

None of them had an answer until the boy himself meanders straight through the front doors, out of sight.

Reggie and Alex move to follow him, but Luke holds them back. “Wait. I don’t know if this is a good idea,” he says, tension twitching through his brows. “Something about this is fishy.”

Alex can’t deny that, but Reggie’s face is still contorted up into puzzlement. “What do you mean?”

Luke’s eyes flicker at the set of double doors where Nick disappeared into. “I mean, what if this is a trap? What other reason would Nick need to go into The Hollywood Ghost Club other than to…to trick us, or something? What if _Caleb_ has something to do with this? Guys, we told Julie that we would never step foot in there again. We can’t risk breaking another promise with her. She would never forgive us this time.”

As Luke explains, Alex realizes he might actually be onto something. What if it _is_ a trap? What if Caleb is somehow behind all of this? And if he is, how is any of this even possible? Why _Nick,_ out of all people? The whole thing was just one big mess that didn’t make any sense.

Luke tugs on their sleeves, dragging them behind a group of lifers waiting at a bus stop. “Here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to go home and tell Julie what we saw today, and hopefully, she’ll be able to help us figure something out together. Because the more time we spend out here and talk about it, the more risk we’re putting ourselves in.”

Reggie nods, the look of realization dawning on him and quickly turning to horror. He starts shaking, and Alex suddenly feels the need to put his arm around him to calm him down. Even after everything they’ve been through and Julie being able to save them from the stamp, how did Caleb _still_ manage to have a hold over them? It’s like he stamped _trauma_ on them instead of a curse.

Luke poofs them out and they end up at the foot of Julie’s driveway, where they find Julie herself walking up to the house with her backpack dangling off a shoulder, Flynn in tow.

“Oh, hey guys. How was Christmas shopping? Find anything good?” She says, smiling.

The look on their faces must’ve triggered something in her, because she instantly runs over to them in worry. “What? What is it?”

She frantically runs her hands over them, checking to see if they were hurt in any way. It was pointless, they all knew it, but it somehow comforted their anxieties if only for a second. Flynn rushes over, too, concerned about _Julie’s_ concern, because she couldn’t see their faces. She knew something was wrong, though.

“What’s wrong with Reggie?” Julie asks, grabbing his hand and joining Alex’s part in trying to get him to relax.

“I’m okay, really. Just a bit shaken up, ‘s all.” He says halfheartedly, although Alex and Luke knew the thought of them being under Caleb’s control again freaked all of them out.

“What happened?”

“Let’s go in the garage to talk,” Alex suggests. They all head over and take their seats, Alex wondering where to even begin. Nick was Julie’s friend. How would she feel about knowing Caleb did something to him?

They try to explain everything to her in the best way they can, telling her every single detail. Julie sits calmly, taking in the news and not uttering a word. Flynn, still not knowing anything, holds Julie’s hand and waits patiently for her to say something.

She contemplates the information in her head and furrows her brows together. “So, you think Caleb did something to Nick?”

The three of them exchange looks and then meet hers. Luke nods. “That’s the best explanation we could think of for all of this.”

“How…how is that possible? I mean, Caleb’s dead. How could he hurt Nick?”

Again, they didn’t have a reasonable explanation that could prove anything.

“I don’t know. But he wasn’t acting himself. At least, I assume he wasn’t. Unless Nick plays hooky, steals from flower shops, and regularly attends The Hollywood Ghost Club,” Luke replies.

Julie shakes her head. “No. No, that’s crazy, he wouldn’t do that. Alex, have you talked to Willie lately? Do you know if he knows anything about Caleb having the ability to… _possess_ someone?”

 _Willie_. Oh god, he didn’t even think about him. If Caleb knew they were there, would he be in trouble because of them?

“I don’t know. But yeah, I’ll go talk to him. He might be at the skatepark,” he says, wondering if it’s even safe to do so. 

“Okay,” Julie says. “I think the only thing we can do right now is see what Willie says and Flynn, Carrie, and I will keep an eye on Nick if he shows up here or at the school. In the meantime, I think…I think you guys should stay here. Just in case.”

“But what about Alex?” Reggie asks. “Not that Willie would do anything to him, but what if Caleb did something to him and is using him as bait for Alex?”

Alex was going to have a panic attack. He had to see Willie, _now._ He didn’t care if anything happened to himself. He just had to know if he was okay.

“Well, how do you know if Caleb actually saw you guys? Are you sure it was a trap? Maybe Caleb possessing Nick takes away his ability to see ghosts?” She shutters at “possessing,” as if the word itself created a bad taste in her mouth.

Luke puffs his cheeks and lets out a breath. “Well, that is possible, I guess. If Caleb was possessing Nick, he didn’t seem to notice us. We were being pretty discreet.”

Julie nods. “Okay, good. Maybe he doesn’t know, then.”

“But that’s the thing. What if he does?” Luke says, looking at Alex. “I’m sorry, man, but if Caleb _does_ know and is using Willie as bait to get to you, I’m not going to let you go. I know you care about him, Alex, and I do too, but you’re too important to us. Even if Julie got rid of the stamp, we don’t know if we’re completely immune to his power.”

Tears brimmed in Alex’s eyes. They burned as they threatened to spill over, but he shut his lids tight and turned away from Luke to stare at the ground. It wasn’t fair. He understands where Luke is coming from, but Willie could be in trouble. He could be in trouble and Caleb could do something to him and it could be _all Alex’s fault._ If it weren’t for him, Caleb wouldn’t have threatened Willie in the first place and this whole thing would have never happened.

Willie was right. _They never should’ve met._

“Wait,” Flynn says. Julie must’ve told her what was going on. She reaches into her pocket and pulls out her phone. “Maybe this could help.”

Julie looks at her like she’s crazy. “Your phone?”

She nods. “Well, Alex said Willie might be at the skatepark, right? If Willie doesn’t know about Nick, Caleb must only use him when he needs to. He must have to take his body back home so Willie doesn’t suspect anything. And if he’s not at the club, maybe Caleb hasn’t gotten to him yet and Alex could get to the skatepark first to talk to him. I don’t know if it will work, but he could take my phone and call us on Julie’s phone if he needs anything.”

Luke snaps his fingers. “Okay, that could possibly work.”

“Flynn, again, you’re a genius!” Julie says, getting out her phone as well.

Flynn holds up her hands. “Don’t thank me just yet. It’s still risky, but it’s better than nothing.”

They do a test call to see if it works. Sure enough, he can hear Luke through the speaker, and Alex can be heard through Julie’s. It takes Alex a couple of tries to figure out how to call Julie on Flynn’s phone, but it’s not as horrible as he thought. As long as he doesn’t go anywhere in public, he should be fine.

“Now, remember. If Willie isn’t at the skatepark, come right back here. Flynn and I shared each other’s location, so if anything happens, we’ll find you,” Julie instructs. “Oh, and try not to put her phone in your pocket. It might fall through. Just hold onto it, okay?”

“Okay,” Alex agrees, although he’s terrified. There are so many ways this could go wrong. But, if he’s optimistic, there are many ways where it could also go right. And, who knows, maybe they’re thinking way too hard into this? He just needs to find Willie and talk to him before he explodes from his own nerves.

“You’ll be fine,” Luke tells him, a smile forcing its way onto his mouth, but Alex knows him too well. He can see that he’s scared.

Alex saves his breath for a goodbye, because there really is no need for that. He’ll be back. Instead, he pulls Luke in for a hug. Reggie joins in, and soon they’re all crowded around Alex in one big jumble of limbs.

After a moment, Alex pulls back, takes a deep breath, and poofs out of the garage with Flynn’s phone clutched into his fist, concentrating hard on keeping it in his grasp. This might get a little tricky if he encounters something that could make him lose his focus. He’ll have to take breaks and set her phone down if it becomes too much for him.

As he lands on the broken slabs of concrete in the abandoned skatepark, weeds somehow growing taller than the last time he saw them, the first thing he notices is the whistling. The sound is hard to trace, a faint trill of chords lingering in the atmosphere like wind chimes, but he manages to find the source coming from one of the dipped bowls in the pavement. Alex prays that whoever is down there is Willie, but he fears the worst as he slowly makes his way over.

The whistling stops, mid-note, as his footsteps get closer. He braces himself as a hand grips onto the side of the ledge, and a face appears.

Andy.

Alex tries his hardest not to freak out, because what was he doing here, alone, laying down in a hole in the ground, whistling tunes like some psychopath?

He shouldn’t say that. Caleb is the real psychopath here, capturing people’s souls and taking over their bodies.

But still. Who does that?

“Alex,” Andy declares, a tone of surprise lodged in his voice. Alex would be lying if he said he wasn’t a little surprised to see him here, too. He was hoping to find Willie with him, at least.

“Where’s Willie?” Alex demands, jumping right into it, jittery thoughts pushed aside. He didn’t have time to chit-chat.

“I thought he was with you,” Andy frowns, standing up and climbing out of the bowl. “I was just waiting for him to get back.”

What? Why would he think he was with Alex? Did Willie tell him that? “Well, he’s not. I need to find him and talk to him. Do you know where he is?”

Andy finally steps out and walks closer to him, his height taking advantage of everything. “Well, no, I—” He starts, then pauses, mouth hanging open. It falls shut, and his face transforms into something completely different that Alex would’ve never expected from him. He looked, well, _guilty_.

“Alex, I—I wanted to apologize for the way that I acted the last time we met. I was in shock from seeing Willie, and I guess I still wasn’t quite over the fact that we broke up. When he kissed you, I just…it made me mad. But Willie told me how much of a nice guy you were and that we were over and…I shouldn’t have made things so awkward between the three of us. I’m sorry.”

_What._

This—he— _what?_ He’s apologizing? To Alex? _Now?_ Out of all times? If this were any other situation, Alex would be popping a champagne bottle and dedicating a whole night to celebration. But now wasn’t the right time for this.

“Look, Andy, I really appreciate that, but now really isn’t the time to—”

He puts his hand up. “No, I feel horrible. I think I might’ve messed things up.”

Again, the apology was music to his ears, but Alex was about ten seconds away from poofing out of there and looking for Willie elsewhere. Even if it _was_ against the plan.

“Let me just…I think I know where he’s at. I’ll fix this,” Andy says, starting to take off in the other direction.

“Wait. You do?” Alex calls out, curious as to how he knew where he was, and Alex didn’t. Didn’t he just say that he thought Willie was with Alex?

“Just stay here! I’ll be right back,” He says, poofing out and leaving Alex alone with his thoughts.

Well. That’s that, then. Andy was off to go get Willie, and Alex was just supposed to sit here and wait? He knew that finding Willie was what he wanted, but how did Andy know where he was? And fix _what?_ What was there to fix? It all didn’t make sense, and Alex was just as confused, if not more, than he was from the start.

And that _apology_. Where did that come from? What did Willie say to him that made him come out with that?

As all of these thoughts bounced around in his head, Alex suddenly had an epiphany. He knew where Willie was, but he didn’t want to believe how Andy knew about it. If he was right, he needed to talk to Willie, now.

Alex knows that he promised his friends that he would go straight back to Julie’s if he couldn’t find him, but this was important. He left Flynn’s phone underneath a shady tree, praying that they wouldn’t call him, and poofed out of the skatepark, landing right outside the golden doors of The Hollywood Ghost Club.

Alex is pretty sure he would be able to feel Luke and Julie’s wrath if they were to know where he was right now, but he didn’t care. _He had to know._

He hid behind a pillar as a lifer couple with a sparkling dress and black tux glided through the doors, laughing obnoxiously about something while clutching onto their drinks. Before the doors closed shut behind them, Alex slid through the small opening and tucked himself away in the shadows. He watched as the couple sauntered across the balcony and down the carpeted steps, descending into the glowing sea of bejeweled costumes and party favors.

Just as he remembered, the club was exuberant and roaring, alive with the sound of jazz music blasting from every corner and the clinking noises of glass against glass from guests toasting to another night in paradise. It was like standing in the midst of a Gatsby party without the mansion. Alex didn’t know how Caleb did it, but he really had to top it off to him for being able to keep this club moving twenty-four hours a day without stopping. He can see why he was so enthralled with the idea of him the first time they met.

Alex was so captivated by the noise and the screens that he almost missed the flash of black out of the corner of his eye. Stepping a bit closer to the railing, he caught the sight of a tall figure down below making its way through the crowd. _Andy_. It had to be.

His eyes continued the search, scoping out the mass of people to find a flop of brown hair anywhere, or even a helmet, but all he could see was a blur of bright lights. Frustrated, Alex checked around him to see if the coast was clear before taking off down the stairs and following Andy. Wherever Andy went had to lead to Willie, he was sure of it.

Andy leads Alex backstage, a place that Alex absolutely dreaded with every fiber of his being. The last time he was there, Caleb taunted him and the boys with their biggest weaknesses to get what he wanted from them—full control. If it weren’t for Julie, they would still be here, playing as Caleb’s band in a constant loop, forever _._

The thought of that alone made him shiver. Never being able to play with _Julie_ again sent another ripple of fear through him, but he couldn’t think about that right now. He continued to stray behind Andy, concealing himself against a wall in a corner as soon as he stopped in his tracks. Andy hesitates and sits on a guitar amplifier, biting his nails and shaking his leg continuously. He glances at the stairs to his left, the steps going up and fading into darkness. Alex noticed those steps before, although the only person that he saw come through there was Caleb. Was Willie up there?

Before Alex could do or say anything, somebody starts to come down the steps, stepping into the light fully.

The man of the hour. Caleb.

Hm. So if Caleb’s here, where was Nick’s body?

“Ah, Andy,” Caleb says, a smirk displayed on his face, decked out in his dark, purple cape and black top hat. “Nice to see you. How are things going? Willie doesn’t know you’re here, does he?”

Andy looks at the ground. “No. He doesn’t. Is he here?”

“Of course he is,” Caleb replies cheerfully, snatching up a random cabernet wine glass and swishing it around. “He’s frolicking around here somewhere, doing what he’s told. Now, _you_ on the other hand…” He gives Andy a pointed look and leans against the wall opposite of Alex. If he even somewhat moved an inch or let out a breath, he was sure Caleb would hear it on the other side. “Give me an update. It’s been a while. And make it quick, before he shows up.”

Alex moved out of both of their perspectives completely so he wouldn’t get caught, back facing the wall and switching to listen carefully to their conversation.

He hears Andy sigh. “Well, he’s still…he’s still seeing him.”

Another sigh comes from the room, but Alex thinks it’s Caleb this time. Andy’s voice seems panicked when he quickly adds, “But I’ve been hanging out with Willie _more_. He seems to realize that spending time with him is only going to make things worse. He’s caving.”

A silence rang in the air. “Good. I should’ve gotten rid of that kid when I had the chance. He’s only pushing Willie closer and closer to his own demise.”

Alex couldn’t listen anymore.

 _He’s still seeing him._ Him, as in Alex. _He’s caving._ Caving, as in Willie’s starting to slip farther and farther away from his fingertips and he didn’t even realize it. _That kid,_ as in Alex, again.

Alex knew it. He _knew_ there was something off about Andy from the start, and he should’ve known, _he should’ve known_ that Andy was working for Caleb. The whole time, Andy was trying to split them apart. And apparently, according to Andy, it was working. Willie will soon want nothing to do with Alex or Luke or Julie or any of them, because he knows that Caleb could take his soul away from him at any moment.

 _I’ll fix this._ Yeah, Andy’s sure “fixing things” alright. Alex was so angry that he was seeing red.

Just when he thought he could have Willie, just when he thought they could actually _be_ _something_ , it backfires. Of _course_ Willie was starting to distance himself from Alex. How could he not see it before? Alex was the biggest threat to his _soul_ and every minute that he spent with him and away from Caleb was another minute of potential risk.

He couldn’t blame Willie for wanting to spend time with someone else. Willie deserves nothing but the best—why would he ever want somebody like Alex? Someone who is putting his life in danger?

Not to mention, Andy was spying on them. He was _spying_ on them and telling Caleb about _everything._ If Caleb wasn’t mad at Willie before, he surely must be now, and it’s only a matter of time before he does something to him.

Alex’s thoughts were getting loud and the air around him was becoming thin and all of the lights and music was overwhelming him in a tight seal of dread and everything was just too much for him to handle right now and he couldn’t breathe, _he couldn’t breathe—_

A hand clamps over his mouth. Alex’s muffled scream almost escapes his lips, but a white flash of light washes over him and he soon finds himself standing back at the skatepark, hand in hand with Willie.

What scared him the most was the shear panic in Willie’s eyes, and he really, _really_ couldn’t breathe now. He was pretty sure he was having an anxiety attack.

The hand on his mouth disappears and is replaced with two of them steadying his arms. “Alex? Alex, are you okay? Alex! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you, I just needed…”

Willie’s voice drowned out. He suddenly felt dizzy, the world swaying underneath his feet, and his chest was constricting with every failed attempt at an intake for air. How was it that his dead, earthly body was buried in the ground somewhere, feeling nothing but the eternal bliss of sleep, but _this_ body, spiritual, or _whatever_ it was, was alive, having to endure the painful, physical effects of his fears trying to tear him apart?

He could feel Willie moving his arms out the way, reaching for his fanny pack, but he couldn’t remember why. All he could think about was that _the_ _air is gone, air is gone, air is gone._

Something cold and hard was placed between his lips, and a gush of wind flowed through him and down his throat with the force of a riptide, cleansing his head and filling his lungs with oxygen. It brought him back to reality, if only somewhat, but the most important thing was that he could breathe again.

As he tried to regain his cognition, inhaling deep breaths, he felt the gentle strokes of fingers running through his hair and a calming voice sending positive reassurances to him.

“Shh, it’s okay, Alex. It’s alright. You’re okay.”

Willie. He looked worried, scared even, but was trying to keep his facial expression warm in order to keep Alex at bay. His hair was up and out of his face, a few strands falling loose, and he was wearing his formal attire like he usually does whenever he goes to work for Caleb. Even though he almost gave Alex a heart attack a few seconds ago, he was so relieved to see him.

And it was amazing, the effect that Willie had on him. Alex stood there, letting Willie soothe and coax and comfort, and all of the pressures and negative energies inside of him slowly began to dissipate, piece by piece. They didn’t go away, not completely, they never really do, but they subsided. A lot. He was starting to feel better.

Alex didn’t really seem to have any self-control, either. He was just so happy that Willie was here and safe and away from Caleb and their faces were so close together that he couldn’t help but lean in and kiss him.

It was gentle, soft, and sweet, and he found himself becoming more and more infatuated with every little thing that Willie did when they kissed. He noticed the way that Willie’s eyelashes brushed against his cheeks when he leaned a little closer to him, he noticed the way that Willie’s grip on his arm gradually faded into a light touch because he became so dazed in the moment, he noticed the way that Willie’s lips were careful yet eager against his when they met in the middle, and Alex noticed the way that he lets out tiny sighs every time he comes up for air. He was just so wonderful, so ethereal in his own way that Alex wanted to freeze this moment and kiss Willie like this every day if he could, he wanted to—

Alex pulled away. He was so captivated by Willie and his presence that he forgot the reason for his breakdown. He couldn’t have this. He couldn’t have _Willie_ like this. Guilt radiated off of him in waves as he took a step back.

“What?” Willie asks. “What is it?”

Alex lets go of him and crosses his arms against his chest, caving in on himself. “It’s my fault.”

“Your fault? What’s your fault?” He blanches, reaching out and touching his arms gently.

“Caleb. It’s my fault if he does something to you.”

Willie frowns, pulling away. Alex missed his touch the moment it left.

“Is that why you were there? Listening in on him? Alex, you know you’re not supposed to go there anymore. It’s dangerous. Do you know what could’ve happened if Caleb caught you? You’re lucky it was me that found you and not him. Or one of his workers, for that matter.”

A lecture. He should’ve seen this coming. He’s honestly quite scared to see Julie and Luke’s reactions when he tells them what happened, too.

“Something bad could’ve happened, I know. But I had to. I was following Andy,” He says.

That information seems to throw him off. “ _Andy?_ He knows about The Hollywood Ghost Club?”

“Yeah. And he knows about Caleb, too. He was _spying_ on us this whole time, Willie. He was telling him everything. Caleb _knows_ about us, and he’s going to do something to you or to me or to Julie and the guys and—”

“Wait, wait. Caleb knew about us this whole time? Why hasn’t he done something yet?”

Alex didn’t think about that. If Andy had been spying on them for a while and was telling Caleb, you would think he would’ve done something to them by now. But he hasn’t.

“Maybe it has to do something with Nick,” Alex points out. “Maybe he can’t because that would make him look suspicious.”

“Nick? Who’s Nick?” Willie asks.

“He’s Julie’s friend that’s a lifer. We think that Caleb has been possessing him to get to Julie, to figure out how she was able to lift his curse, or something. We spotted him walking into The Hollywood Ghost Club earlier today.”

Willie looks off into the distance and sighs, brows turning inwards. “So, he can possess people now,” he mutters. It didn’t sound like a question.

“He couldn’t do that before?”

He plays with his lip, thinking. “Well, maybe, but not that I know of. I’ve never seen him do anything like that around me.”

“Did you see Nick at all when you were there?” Alex asks. If Nick was there, Willie had to have seen him, right?

“I don’t know, maybe? What does he look like?”

Alex tries to recall what he was wearing at the flower shop. “He has blond, shaggy hair, wore a red letterman’s jacket and…well, he was holding a bouquet in his hand.”

Willie contemplates for a second. “Yeah. Yeah, I think I might’ve seen him,” he says, shaking a pointed finger. “Some kid like that was going up into Caleb’s quarters backstage, which I thought was a little odd, but he was a lifer, so. I didn’t really think much of it.”

That confirmed it. This was bad, right? This was really bad. What was Caleb planning? He had to tell the others.

“What do you think he’s planning on doing with him?” Willie asks hesitantly, eyes wide and stricken.

“I don’t know,” Alex says. But they had to do something. Andy was probably going to be here any minute. “Andy’s coming back soon. We should leave.”

Willie shakes his head. “No, you should leave. I’ll stay here. That way he doesn’t suspect anything.”

“What? Willie, no. I overheard him. Him _and_ Caleb are planning to do something to you. Maybe not now, but soon. Plus, Andy told me to wait here for him. If I’m gone, he’ll know something’s up.”

“They’ll do something to me _only_ if I continue to spend time with you,” he counters, grabbing Alex’s hand. “I’ll tell him you had band practice. You should go.”

“But—”

“Alex. I can handle Andy on my own. Besides, it’s my fault I’m in this mess, not yours. I don’t care what him or Caleb does to me. I only care about you _._ And what _you_ need to do right now is get out of here so that nothing can happen to you.”

Alex felt like screaming. So, what, he was just supposed to leave Willie here, alone, defenseless? He was supposed to just leave him here while Andy shows up, and sit at home and do nothing about it? He couldn’t do that. He _wouldn’t._

But he had to.

He had to, because nothing could be possibly worse than Andy or Caleb showing up and Alex still being here with Willie. That would only fuel the fire.

Alex looked at his hand in Willie’s. How they fit together like puzzle pieces. How nothing in this world felt better than to hold his hand and feel their palms, knuckles, and fingers perfectly align.

He never used to believe in soulmates. Didn’t think it was possible to feel like the other half of you was missing until you met that one person. But then again, he never used to believe in ghosts.

Willie was his soulmate. He was sure of it.

If he left now, what then? When would he see him again? _Would_ he see him again?

“Willie…” Alex murmurs, his voice catching in his throat.

Willie squeezes his hand and pulls away. When he looks up, tears are in his eyes. “Alex. Go.”

He knows he has to leave. So he does.

Alex gives him one more kiss, then another on his forehead, and backs away, flashing out.


	4. lion's den

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> alex contemplates things on a park bench. he does something he shouldn't and finds himself caught in a situation he can't get out of.

Alex couldn’t bring himself to face the others quite yet. He was still trying to process everything that just happened.

Sitting on a random bench somewhere, he came to terms with three things.

First, Andy was a liar.

The biggest liar on the face of this planet, actually. Did he lie this much when he was alive? Maybe that’s why Willie broke up with him. Their first interaction was a lie, the whole apology to Alex was a lie, and he lied straight to Willie’s face, worst of all. The only person that knew who he was and who might’ve actually been able to help him. Pathetic.

What really fueled Alex’s rage was that he was genuinely starting to like him, too. Aside from the fact that he once wanted to kill him and that he dated Willie in the past, he could’ve been someone that Alex could see himself befriending. Maybe. An acquaintance at most.

Second, Caleb was a psychopath.

That was old news, though. Or how Julie would like to call it, “we been knew.” Whatever she was saying these days.

But yeah, he was crazy, and it only seemed to be getting worse. He possessed Nick and is probably planning on hatching some diabolical plan to ruin their lives as they knew it. Did he mention that he put a curse on them? Yeah, Alex didn’t forget about that. One that Julie lifted, but still. _Psychopath._

Third, Willie’s and his relationship was at a crossroads.

He didn’t what would happen to them after this whole situation fizzled out, if it ever would. The way that they left things made it seem like they were over, officially, and it felt like they were saying goodbye to each other all over again, which made his insides churn with deep remorse. The thing was, it wasn’t something that he could control, and that’s what hurt so bad.

There had to be something he could do in order to get Willie out of Caleb’s control. But what? How could he get Willie’s soul back? Caleb was a century-old ghost and has probably been mastering the art of soul-sucking for years now. Alex was nothing but a novice. An amateur, if you will, at this whole “ghost” thing, and he didn’t know where to start.

He had to talk to Julie. If anyone could put a stop to Caleb, it was her. She was the only one who had been able to vanquish his magic before, and if she did it once, she could do it again.

Alex put his hand in his pocket to retrieve Flynn’s phone, hoping to call the others and let them know he was on his way back, but as his fingers dug deep into the crevice of his pocket, as well as his fanny pack, there was nothing but his inhaler and a few leftover candy wrappers from Luke and Reggie stuffing them in there once upon a time.

Flynn’s phone wasn’t there.

Realization dawned on him as he smacked his forehead. _The tree._ It was still at the skatepark.

How could he be so stupid? This is why no one should trust him with technology. Things just never ended well.

He had to go back. But most importantly, he had to go back without anyone seeing him. If Willie was still there waiting for Andy, and Alex showed up, who knows what could happen.

This could possibly be a huge mistake. A dumb one, too. But Alex braced himself as he conjured up the picture of the trunk of the tree in his mind and flashed right into the skatepark.

It worked. Alex didn’t think it would, but it worked. He was able to perfectly poof right behind the safety of the tree, fully blocked from view. As he looked down around at the grass, he spotted Flynn’s phone carefully perched up against the trunk where he last put it.

With the dart of his hand, he quickly snatched it up, checking to see if there were any new notifications from the others. Nothing other than something from Instagram. Phew.

Just as Alex was about to leave, he heard Willie’s voice emerging from the distance, softly distraught and cautious as it conversed with someone else’s. Alex carefully peeked his head out from hiding, just a sliver of vision that he could see of the skatepark ahead, and distinguished Willie, hands folded behind his back, standing upright in front of a dark, cloaked figure.

Caleb.

Lovely. He walked right into a lion’s den, then.

Alex picks up on the middle of Willie saying something. “…don’t know where he is, Caleb. Probably with his friends or something.”

Caleb grows a smirk, eyes sparkling devilishly in the sun, even all the way from here. “I hope you’re not lying to me, William. Because it would be a shame if something were to happen to him, now wouldn’t it? Now, let me ask you this again, because there doesn’t seem to be a reasonable explanation as to why you’re here and not at work like you should be. _Was he here with you?”_

Willie shrinks back and flinches at the words, avoiding his harsh gaze. He lets out a shaky sigh and straightens up again. “Yes. He was.”

Caleb smiles fully at that, his hands opening up, palms to the sky. “Of course he was. Now,” Caleb says, a pointer finger resting lightly on his lips as he thinks to himself. He steps closer to Willie and leans in, smile completely wiped off. “Why would you lie to me?”

Willie recoils but keeps their eyes locked, not backing down from the intimidating glare. He doesn’t say a word. And from the looks of it, he doesn’t have to. His eyes say it all for him.

Caleb leans back once he realizes Willie isn’t going to say anything and is the first to break the exchange. Instead, he walks right past him, focused on something else entirely. Alex watches intently as he reaches down and picks up Willie’s lone skateboard and helmet, both resting openly on the cracked pavement. Alex didn’t even notice they were there.

“This is your last chance,” Caleb says, letting go of the pieces and watching as they floated instead of falling to the ground.

“Either you do what I say, and no one gets hurt,” he continues, swirling a finger at the objects as they slowly and tauntingly spin in circles. Then, suddenly, they stop, suspended in mid-air, and Caleb snaps his fingers.

Alex sees Willie reach out, instinctively, but his fingers grasp nothing but air.

They disappeared. Gone. Erased from existence, just like that. Like they were never there in the first place.

Caleb grins smugly and finishes his sentence. “Or next time, it’s your soul. Got it?”

Willie’s face was ashen and drained of color as he struggled to conceal his shock. The one thing he spent his whole life _and_ afterlife doing, the one thing he _died_ for, was taken from him in an instant. Alex knew that Willie said something about Caleb threatening to take his skating away, but he didn’t think he’d actually do it. Willie nodded slowly, and Alex felt the loss flowing out of him and into his own gut just by watching his expression.

“Good,” Caleb verifies, a tight-lipped smile spread across his face. “I would get back to work if I were you. It’s getting quite busy if I last recall.”

Alex steadied on his toes to get a closer look, and an instant, blaring shriek of a ringtone bellowed out of the phone in his hands. The noise startled him, making him lose his grip on the device, and it tumbled out of his grasp and onto the grass below, shortly followed by his body as he lunged for it.

 _No, no, no!_ He scrambled to turn the sound off, a miracle, really, just as the name “Julie” flashed across the screen.

But it was too late.

He turned to see Willie and Caleb staring at him as he was spread out on the grass, a deer in the headlights. He waved awkwardly. “Um, hi?”

Willie was shooting daggers at him, a nameless dread overtaking his features as he froze with terror, looking to see how Caleb would react.

“Well, well, well. Alex. So good to see you again. Looks like you _were_ here, after all.” He says, making a pointed look at Willie.

Alex’s mouth went dry. This can’t be happening. He had one simple task—get the phone and go. _Why does he have to ruin everything?_

“No! No, Willie didn’t know I was here. I showed up on my own.” Alex rushes out, stumbling to get up. He slipped the phone into his back pocket, focusing all of his energy to keep it there. He prayed that Caleb didn’t notice it.

“Ah, I see. And may I ask why you’re here, spying on us? You know, instead of hanging around those ghost friends and that silly little lifer of yours?”

Alex couldn’t help it—he blanked. His mouth was open, bobbing like a fish, as he struggled to find the right words.

“I—I uh. I was just—um, looking for Willie. I noticed that you were here, so, I hid.” It was a lame excuse, but it was all he got.

Caleb nods. “Right, right. Nothing against me, of course. I’m just surprised that you would continue to hang around him when you know the risks.”

Hot shame coursed through him. He was right. Willie told him to leave, and he didn’t. Well, he did, but then he came back. There was no point in trying to explain the situation. It was his fault for whatever Caleb was going to do to them.

“I know. I keep on coming back, even though he tells me not to,” Alex says, glancing at Willie, who looks like he’s about to break. “So, if you’re going to do something, do it to me. Not to him. He didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Aw. How sweet,” Caleb says, putting a hand on his chest. “I never really understood why you were so infatuated with Willie in the first place, Alex. I mean, compared to you and me—ghosts that can actually make themselves visible to lifers—he brings nothing to the table. Well, I guess he can skate, but—oh. He can’t do that now, either, huh? Can’t skate, can’t figure out his unfinished business, can’t even do one _simple_ job for me—quite useless, isn’t he?” He suddenly snaps his fingers again, and Flynn’s phone appears in his hand. “What do we have here?”

Alex was beginning to feel a burning, fire-prickling sensation spike through his chest. He struggled to fight against the rage festering inside of him as Caleb peers down at the phone, showing no hint of remorse for what just came out of his mouth. Alex noticed Willie staring at the ground, a blank wall of emotion, just _taking_ the words that Caleb threw at him.

Well, Alex wouldn’t take them. He wouldn’t just stand here and listen to Caleb talk about Willie like that. Like he was _dirt_. He didn’t care how much power he had. _No one_ says that about him.

“What’s wrong with you? How could you say that _?_ After everything he’s done for you—”

 _“Alex.”_ Willie interrupts, his eyes wide and pleading as if they’re saying _let it go._

Caleb nods his head. “Yeah, Alex. I would choose your next words carefully.”

Alex opens up his mouth to spit out more accusations, the fire inside of his chest boiling now, hot and searing and ready to burst, but before he could get a word out, Caleb tsks, shaking his head as he lifts the phone up to show the screen.

“Bummer. Missed call from Julie.” He says, thinking for a moment and turning his head to the side inquisitively. “How _did_ she manage to do it, exactly? Get rid of the stamps? I can’t imagine the amount of power she must have to be able to do such a thing,” He says, slowly walking closer. Something flickers in his eyes when he stops directly in front of him. “I wonder what would happen if all of that power was gone.”

Caleb doesn’t wait for a response as he poofs all of them out, landing directly inside of The Hollywood Ghost Club. Lights and ghosts and lifers danced all around as he guided the two of them through the mass of people and to the black door that was the backstage.

Caleb’s last words bounced around in Alex’s mind, trying to make sense of what it meant. Willie was just as tense next to him as Caleb thrust them through the threshold, Andy dressed up and waiting for them there. When Alex looked up at him, he avoided his eyes completely. His expression was hard and blank. Unmoving. Alex hated him.

“Make sure he does his job,” Caleb tells Andy, pushing Willie forward. “And get this one ready for a show,” he says about Alex, tossing Flynn’s phone in the air. Andy catches it, looking confused as to what it was.

Caleb then suddenly morphs into a body with blond hair, a red letterman jacket, and holding a bouquet of flowers. Nick. His voice comes out different when he says, “I’ve got things to take care of,” before disappearing into a flash of light.


	5. visitors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> alex and willie interrogate andy for answers. alex worries for his friends while the club starts to get busier by the second.

As soon as Caleb left, a confined silence flooded the room. All that was heard was the muffled roar coming through the door from the party guests.

Willie managed to break it, yanking his arm back from where Andy had a grip on him. “What’s the matter with you? Why the _hell_ are you working for Caleb?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” Andy retorts.

Willie scoffs, shaking his head. “I can’t believe you. I can’t believe you would stoop this low just to get back at me for breaking up with you.”

Andy frowns, as if the comment actually struck a nerve in him. “I wasn’t getting back at you. Not at first, anyway. Caleb was actually helping me.”

“ _Helping_ you? Helping you. Oh, okay, with what?” Willie fires back.

“Finding _you_ ,” Andy says, raising his voice a little. “I died, and I came back as a ghost, and the _first thing_ I wanted to do was find you. Caleb saw me walking around Hollywood and asking other ghosts about you, and he promised me he would take me to you. But only if I helped him first.”

Willie rolls his eyes. “Yeah, and look where that got us.”

“I _tried_ to stop all of this,” Andy says, looking at Alex. “Alex, you know that I wanted to fix this. I came back here to convince Caleb that—”

“—that you wanted to get rid of me? That I was no good for Willie? I mean, I’m not, but that still doesn’t give you the right to get into the way of things.” Alex says, feeling good about finally standing up to him. He could feel Willie’s proud smirk radiate through his core.

Andy blinks, taken aback. “You followed me?”

Alex crosses his arms. “Yeah, I know all about your little talk with Caleb. I was listening.”

“Then, you must have heard the part about me trying to convince him to leave you and Willie alone?”

He—what? No, he didn’t hear that part. He _what?_

“You…what?” Alex says. Willie must have pulled him away at that point in their conversation.

“After Caleb was telling me about how you were drawing Willie closer to his own demise, I freaked out. I didn’t know that he was planning on doing something to you two. I just thought he was worried about Willie missing work time and wanted me to check up on you guys,” Andy explains.

“When I first started spying on you two, I got mad. I continued to help Caleb because I was hurt that Willie was with you, Alex. But then, after I spent time with Willie and he told me how he felt about you, I felt guilty. So, I told Caleb that I wanted nothing to do with him anymore. I figured that he helped me find Willie, and he got what he wanted,”

Andy sighs, running his hands through his short hair. “Apparently, that was the wrong move. He threatened me. He told me that if I tried anything, he would take away my soul. Which, I know I just got here, but in this life, that seems like a pretty big deal.”

Alex felt a little violated at the thought of Andy watching them. “How long were you spying on us?”

He winces. “My first job was following you guys up the mountain.”

So, he was there when Alex and Willie were enjoying their solitude, lying in the snow, having a private moment together. He was there when they went to Julies afterward, putting up Christmas lights in the garage. And he was probably there watching Alex fall flat on his face at the skatepark before he decided to show up.

He wouldn’t be lying if he said it made him a little uncomfortable.

“So, you’re helping him? After knowing that he would potentially hurt me or Alex, you’re still going to help him?” Willie asks.

Andy looks up at him, eyes full of regret. “I never wanted to hurt you, Willie. I’m sorry,” He turns to Alex. “You too, Alex. But what am I supposed to do?”

This was so messed up. Either they all do what Caleb said, or they cease to exist. They were all under his manipulation, his control, whether they wanted to admit it or not.

The guys. Julie. Flynn. They were probably wondering where he was and why he didn’t pick up.

“Andy, give me the phone,” Alex says, putting his hand out.

Andy hesitates, turning the phone over, examining the newer technology that was foreign to him. “I don’t know if I should—”

Willie grabs the phone out of his hands and gives it to Alex. When Flynn’s phone lit up, there were about a thousand notifications popped up. And all of them were missed calls from Julie. They had to know something was wrong, then.

_I wonder what would happen if all of that power was gone._

What did he mean by that? Caleb didn’t know that Flynn’s phone had a tracking device on it. He also probably didn’t know that they were most likely on their way to the club right now. Was he going to go get them himself? Or catch them before they got here?

Alex tapped around on her phone to call Julie back, but once he got it to work, the dial tone dragged on until it reached the voice messaging system.

“They’re not answering me,” he says, cracking his knuckles to relieve some tension.

Willie rests his hand on Alex’s busy fingers gently in order to get him to stop. Alex thought he would take his hand away, but he left it there. Willie then turns to Andy. “Andy, do you know anything about what Caleb is planning to do?”

“I mean, not really. Just something about needing more guests. He doesn’t really tell me anything other than what to do,” He shrugs and straightens up. “In fact, I should be doing that right now. Alex, we need to get you ready for the show.”

Alex and Willie look at each other in confusion. Needing more guests? Guests, as in, Julie and the guys? Why did Alex need to get on stage?

Andy puts his hand on Alex’s back to push him along, but Willie stops him. “Andy. I know you want to save your soul, and we do too, believe me, but we can’t keep doing what he says. I’ve been there. I know.”

Andy’s eyes search Willie’s as if he’s deciding whether or not to trust him. “And what if I don’t? What happens then? He takes away our souls?”

Willie sighs. “Just. Trust me. Alex is almost, if not more, powerful than Caleb. He has friends who are, too. If we work together, we might be able to take him down.”

_Yes._ They were getting somewhere. He didn’t know how to do it, and he didn’t know how his powers would be able to stop him, necessarily, but they could figure it out.

Andy looks Alex up and down. “ _Alex_ is more powerful? How?”

_Ouch_. Rude.

Willie takes a step closer to Alex, a little offended by the comment, too. “He just is. I don’t know how, either, but he’s escaped this place before and managed to uplift one of his curses. Or, well, his friend did.”

“What do you mean, “escape this place?”” he asks, using his fingers as quotations.

“This club is a time-warp. Hours can go by and it’ll feel like minutes.”

Andy takes his hand off of Alex’s back and crosses his arms, taking in the information. “Okay. Say Alex is more powerful. What do we do?”

“Well,” Willie says, briefly sharing a glance with Alex. “I’m not exactly sure. But we need to go find his friends first and see if they’re okay. We just have to make sure to get back before Caleb shows up.”

Andy nods. “Okay. I’ll stay here and you two go.”

Alex squeezes Willie’s hand that was still resting on his. “Yeah, we probably should—”

“—Alex?”

They all turn their heads to see none other than Luke standing in the doorway.

“Luke?” Alex breathes, rushing over to him.

“Guys, he’s over here!” Luke yells over his shoulder, pulling Alex into a tight hug. “God, man, we were so worried about you. You didn’t answer Flynn’s phone and we thought—”

He shoves him. “ _What_ are you doing here? We specifically told you _not_ to go anywhere! And here, out of all places? Alex, what were you thinking?”

Yep. Here it comes. He expected this. He sighs, “It’s a long story.”

The rest of the group runs over, all of them filling in the room one after the other. He hears a shared sigh of relief escape their mouths as they catch sight of Alex. Julie punches his arm.

“Ow! What’d you do that for?” He says, rubbing his arm.

“ _That_ was for not answering the phone! And leaving us worried sick!”

Reggie and Flynn join in, taking turns lightly hitting him, although, Flynn eyeballs where Julie hit him and punches straight air.

“Okay, okay! I get it! What am I, a communal punching bag? And what about you? _You_ didn’t answer me, either!”

Julie glances down at her phone. “Oh, yeah. He tried calling us, guys,” She points out, showing the group the notification.

A unified “ohhhh” is the response, and Alex lightly shoves her back. “Yeah, “ohhh.””

“Still. What are you doing here? With Willie and uh…who’s this?” Julie asks, pointing to Andy who was standing behind him.

“That’s Andy,” Alex answers.

They go quiet. Reggie gulps. “Oh. Right. Andy.” He says, taking a step behind Luke.

“He’s fine, you guys,” He turns to Andy, wincing. “I may have told them you wanted to kill me.”

He laughs. “It’s cool. I’m used to people reacting to me that way.”

Luke eyes him warily before looking back at Alex. “Right, so, what are you doing here again? Caleb’s here, Alex. We need to leave right now.”

“He’s not. But he will be soon. I thought he was going after you guys?” Alex says, confused.

Julie shakes her head. “No, we left once we saw that Flynn’s phone tracked back here. Caleb didn’t show up at all. Did you find out if Willie knew anything about Nick?”

Willie strolls up beside Alex. “I didn’t know it was possible, but yeah, Caleb did possess Nick. Right before he left, he said he had “things to take care of.” We thought those “things” were tracking down you guys and bringing you here, but apparently not.”

Luke frowns. “Okay, so, if Caleb didn’t show up to get us, then…where is he?”

The room went silent as they contemplated the possibilities. Andy speaks up. “He told me he needed more guests, but I don’t know why.”

Reggie looks at him suspiciously. “Wait a minute. How do you know that?”

Alex sighs, frustrated. “It’s a long story that we don’t have time for. Basically, all we know is that Caleb is going to come back with more guests, and we need to figure out what his plan is and how to stop him before he takes our souls. Possibly Nick’s, too.”

As Alex finished his explanation, they all stared at him with wide eyes. It was a lot to take in. Especially having to figure out how to do it a second time without even knowing how they did it the first. This wasn’t going to be easy.

Julie glanced between Alex, Luke, and Reggie. “Well, Caleb wanted the boys in the first place because they’re able to make themselves visible to lifers when they play music with me. As far as we know, we’re the only ones who can do this without his help.”

“But how he can make himself visible to lifers? Our secret is Julie. What’s his?” Reggie asks.

“Souls,” Willie states as he swallows hard and twists his face into an unsettling frown. “The price of admission is souls. He harnesses them as a way to fuel his magic.”

The air in the room suddenly felt suffocating. It was news to them, but somehow, deep down, it was like they knew it all along. They just didn’t want to believe it.

“So, he’s bringing more people here to harness their souls? To become more powerful than us?” Luke asks.

“That could be it, yeah,” Willie clarifies.

“Why is he so mad about that? What’s the big deal if they’re more powerful than him?” Andy questions, leaning back against the wall, one foot propped up.

They all look at Willie for an answer.

He shrugs. “Well, I’ve known Caleb for a while. This is the first time I’ve ever seen him this aggravated about something,” He starts, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear. _Gorgeous_ , Alex thinks. Only Willie would be able to distract him during a time like this.

“He’s been running this club since before I got here, and he’s pretty well-known around the world for his parties. When it comes to ghosts, anyway. If Julie and the guys are the only ones who can do what he does and do it _better_? Well, he’s out of business, then. Everyone will want to see them, and he won’t have his magic anymore. He died performing, so. Having power is sort of his thing.”

That _does_ seem to make sense. Especially about why he’s trying so hard to get rid of them.

“Do you think that’s why he’s using Nick’s body? To get more people to come to the club? More _lifers?”_ Julie accentuates.

He ponders for a second and nods. “Possibly.”

“So, how did Flynn and I make it through the doors without…you know, selling our souls?”

“The workers here are pretty lenient about those kinds of things when Caleb’s not around,” Willie explains. “Caleb’s the only one who can take them. If people show up and he’s not here, some of them will let you in without ticketing you. But they’re really not supposed to.”

It kinda makes Alex wonder how he managed to get in here. Stroke of luck, honestly. Especially since the workers have probably seen his face before and know he’s wanted by Caleb.

“There’s one other thing,” Willie says, pointing to his left at the stairs leading up into the darkness. “That’s Caleb’s headquarters. No one’s allowed up there, and no one’s been able to get up there if they tried. I tried once, but it’s blocked by his magic or something. I don’t think any other ghosts can enter besides him,” He then glances at Julie and Flynn, a hint of uncertainty in his eye. “But I think lifers might be able to.”

Luke notices the subtle glint. “Why do you think that?”

“Well, I saw Caleb go up there earlier, disguised as Nick. My guess is that lifers are allowed to go up there, being as they aren’t held back by any magic. Since all of the lifers here are guests and never come backstage, maybe they’ve just never tried it.”

Reggie walks over to the bottom of the stairs, peering into the shadows of the unknown. He takes a couple of steps upwards and stretches out his arm to see how far he could go. A sudden surge of green light zaps his finger, and he jerks back sharply with a hiss.

“Ow!” He yelps, shaking out his hand. “Man. He really doesn’t want anyone up there. What do you think he’s hiding?”

Willie grimaces. “I don’t know. But if he has it blocked off, it’s gotta be something important.”

Julie follows Reggie and quietly observes the odd staircase, as well. After about a minute, she turns back around with a determined demeanor. “I’ll go up there.”

“Wait, Julie,” Alex protests, promptly feeling worse about having her be the one to go. “I’m not so sure about this.”

Julie smiles. “You’re not so sure about anything, Alex. I’ll be fine.”

“No, I mean—this is my fault. I dragged you guys here. What if something happens?”

“You didn’t drag us anywhere, Alex. We all decided to come here on our own. We’re a family, remember? We look out for each other. Besides, we have to do _something_. He has Nick.”

Just then, a loud rumble of cheers and hollers from the crowd erupts from the ballroom. Alex makes his way over to the door, peeking out to see what was going on. He felt the tickle of fabrics and hairs brush against his skin as the others huddled around him.

Caleb was back, disguised as Nick, opening up the golden doors to an ambush of lifers, all of them rushing in with rambunctious and peppy spirits like they were about to attend a concert. Like they were about to witness something monumental.

Something else that he noticed was that a majority of the lifers pouring in were young. Around his age, in fact.

They were all high schoolers. From Los Feliz High.

He even saw Carrie walk in, carrying a bouquet of flowers, looking even more confused than he did. She flitted her eyes around the large area, presumably searching for something. Or someone. Probably them, considering Julie and Flynn weren’t anywhere in the large mass of students with her.

So, Nick bought those flowers to give to Carrie? To convince her to come? How did he manage to get everyone else here? And now that Nick—Caleb—was back, did that mean—?

“He’s going to take all of their souls,” Willie says, confirming his thoughts.

Including Carrie’s.


	6. the stairs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the group tries to figure out a way to put a stop to caleb. they may or may not have a plan.

“I’m going to go get her,” Flynn announces. “Be right back.”

Before they could stop her, she takes off, swerving through bodies and avoiding collision with the other students as she makes her way over to Carrie.

“No, wait, Flynn!” Julie calls, voice etched in worry.

Alex tries to keep his eyes on her as she stumbles through the crowd, but it was almost impossible with all of the students warding their way through the doors. The more that people filed in, the more she blended in, and he quickly lost sight of her.

Alex lost sight of Nick during all of the chaos, too, and it was a lot harder to spot him when there were about a thousand athletes everywhere all wearing red letterman jackets.

“I have to get back out there,” Willie says. “He’ll notice if I’m not around. Andy, make sure Caleb doesn’t see them. If he comes back here, do what he says, but hide them, or something. I’m going to go talk to the workers and see if they know anything.”

“Wait, Willie,” Andy says, catching his arm. “I’ll hide the others, but shouldn’t I, like, make sure Alex is ready for the show? You know, so Caleb doesn’t suspect anything?”

Willie looks at Alex, hesitance withdrawing him from an answer. Worry was ridden within there somewhere, too.

“I…yes. Yeah, you should,” he says. “I’ll try to be quick.”

Andy was going to get Alex ready for a show. Caleb’s show. By himself. Oh, god. He really didn’t want to have to do this again.

“Do we even have a plan? What’s our plan? _Please_ tell me we have a plan.” Luke budges in, peeking his head between Alex and Willie.

“I think I just told you our plan. That’s all I got until we can figure out what’s up those stairs,” Willie says, eyes fleeting out towards the crowd again, landing on a couple of workers. He finds Alex’s hand and squeezes it. “I’ll see you in a bit, okay? Everything’s going to be fine.”

Alex doesn’t even get a chance to say goodbye before he, too, disappears into the sea of color and leaves the rest of them stranded to figure out what to do next.

He wanted to believe Willie when he said everything would be fine, but how could he think that when Andy was poofing him into a nice suit with his drumsticks in hand? How could he think that when Caleb could come in at any minute and drag him onstage with him? How could he think that when they didn’t have any sort of strategic plan whatsoever?

He soon sees Flynn and Carrie worm their way through the students back to them, and Julie lets out a big sigh of relief when Flynn hauls them through the door. Andy takes them all to a farther room that Alex has never seen before, some place meant for storage as it was mostly cluttered with sparkling props and stage equipment. He tells them to be quiet and leaves, letting Alex know he’ll be coming to get him if Caleb asks.

Fantastic.

As soon as he’s gone, Carrie has a look of bewilderment across her face as she gazes at her surroundings. “What in the world is going on? Why are we back here?”

Julie takes the flowers out of her hands, ignoring her question. “Why did Nick give you these?”

She shrugs, baffled. “He just showed up at my house and apologized for the way we last left things. I mean, I didn’t really care that much, because I’m over it, but then he told me to come here. And apparently the _entire school_. You guys, care to tell me why everyone is saying that Julie is a joke?”

“A _joke?”_ Flynn asks.

“Yeah. Everyone is saying that Julie and her “hologram band” is a scam and that there’s some other guy that Julie stole the idea from—which, called it. I knew that something was sketchy about you guys from the start, and I was right—they’re _ghosts_ —but Nick wouldn’t just out the boys like that. Would he?”

Julie blanches. “No, he wouldn’t do that, not _technically_ , but—a scam? What? Why?”

“I don’t know. Is he mad at you or something? He’s been acting really weird lately.”

She sighs. “This doesn’t make any sense.”

Carrie throws up her hands. “You’re telling me! Why are we at a 1920’s jazz club? Where’s the guy that Nick is talking about?” She brings her voice to a whisper. “Are the boys with us right now?”

“Yes, they’re with us, but—Flynn, can you explain things to her? I have to figure out what’s up those stairs.”

Julie sets the flowers down and leaves despite Willie and Andy’s orders of staying hidden, and Alex, Luke, and Reggie take after her.

“Julie, we’re not supposed to leave!” Luke whispers harshly.

Just then, the blare of a crackle stops them in their tracks, and a voice breaks through the speakers that were scattered throughout the club.

“Ladies and gentlemen, please give a warm welcome for Caleb Covington!”

The crowd erupts in another fit of cheers, and Alex steps out to see the crowd. He thinks this is the most packed he’s ever seen the place. With the high school students combined with the party goers and ghosts, there wasn’t a single spot that wasn’t filled.

In fact, there were so many people around them, he could overhear a small group of ghosts next to them chattering away about how many lifers there were.

“I’ve never seen this many lifers in a long time!”

“I know!”

“When _was_ the last time?”

“Must’ve been when I was alive, I think.”

That sparked Alex’s interest.

He knows he’s supposed to stay where he was, but Caleb was expecting him anyway if he were to get caught. So, he strode up to the group of ghosts.

“Sorry, I just happened to overhear your conversation, and I’m curious. When was the last time you guys left this place?”

One of the ghosts, a fancy gentleman in a suit and tie, took initiative to Alex while focused on the stage where Caleb’s band was blasting music. “Don’t know. I’ve only been here for a couple of days. Or was it a week, maybe? I can’t remember. But look at this place! It’s packed! Who would want to leave now? This is going to be his best show yet!”

Alex furrowed his brows. “You don’t remember what your life—er, afterlife—was like before this?”

“Eh, not really. Pretty boring compared to this.”

“Don’t you guys wanna, you know…figure out what your unfinished business is?”

The man scoffs. “Please, we already did that. Besides, who knows what’s on the other side? Why worry when you can stay here and party forever?”

If Alex had a stomach, he thinks it would’ve dropped.

“Wait. You completed your unfinished business already?”

“Yeah, man. _Long_ time ago.”

“And you haven’t crossed over yet?”

“Nah. Well, I mean, I _guess_ I could cross over if I had my soul back. But it’s too late now. We sold ours to Caleb days ago. Or, weeks ago…months? Ah, forget it. Every ghost in this club has sold their soul to him at one point or another. But who cares?”

The man lets out a holler as the band starts to play another song, and he turns his full attention to the music, ending the conversation. His group of friends stand up and start to dance with him as they clink their glasses in the air.

Alex walks back over to Julie and the boys, his thoughts racing as he went over the conversation in his head. Something about that guy was…off. His eyes had a weird, sort of glossy film over them whenever he would turn from Alex. It was like he found it hard to look away from the stage for one second.

Oh, yeah. And there was also the fact that the ghosts had completed their unfinished business already and _hadn’t crossed over yet._

Reggie was covering his ears when Alex reached them, the music beginning to get a little too loud. His voice comes out as a shout when he says, “There you are, Alex. Why were you talking to those ghosts?”

Alex looked back at the group again, watching as they gazed at the stage in fascination. It made his skin crawl.

“You guys, I…I think Caleb has been manipulating people into staying here instead of crossing over.”

“What?” Luke yells. “What are you talking about?”

“Those ghosts over there—they told me that they already completed their unfinished business a long time ago. Every single one of them at that table would rather stay here forever, listening to Caleb perform, than see what the other side is like. They couldn’t even tell me what _day_ it was. I just—I don’t know. Something about this doesn’t feel right to me. And before you say, ‘nothing feels right to you, Alex,’ I actually mean it this time.”

Luke tries to hide his smile but takes note of Alex’s seriousness. “So, they can cross over, but choose not to?”

“I think so. But Caleb has their souls, so they couldn’t even if they wanted to.”

Luke hesitates with his next words. “Do you think Willie knows about that?”

He doubted it. He was sure that Caleb must have been keeping this secret from everyone, including Willie. Before, Willie told him that there was a lot to like here—what if Caleb told him that? What if he didn’t know that the reason ghosts were staying here was _because_ of Caleb? Maybe he completed his unfinished business already and just didn’t know it yet. If he were to get his soul back, he could cross over…

Alex browsed the crowd for any sight of Willie and found him talking to a group of Caleb’s workers at the foot of the stage, a look of anguish on his face as they mouthed incoherent words to him. That can’t be good. What were they telling him?

Just then, a bright flash of light coated the room, and Caleb appeared on the stage, floating upwards towards the ceiling with his arms spread out wide.

“Welcome! Welcome, one and all! I’m so glad you could make it. Who’s ready for a _real_ show?”

The audience screamed in response, amazed at the sight of him hovering above the air, and the music followed soon after with a boom, dancers spinning to the beat.

As the crowd clapped and danced and cheered, Alex watched as Caleb caught his eye in the audience, and a wide smirk spread across his face as he pointed at him knowingly.

Alex suddenly felt a pull on his torso, a light but familiar _tug_ that made his skin prickle. It was small and faint and barely existing at all, but he knew it was there. When he looked to the side, Luke and Reggie were pressing their chests, too, as if they could feel the same thing.

The three of them exchanged a worried glance. They _knew_ what it was. They’ve felt it before. It wasn’t anything painful like the jolts they experienced, but it was that odd gravitational pull that drew them into joining Caleb’s band.

It was happening again. And Caleb didn’t even have to know that Luke and Reggie were here for the pull to affect all three of them.

Julie opened her mouth to speak, noticing their strange behavior, when Carrie walked right past them. She was gazing blissfully at the stage, a dazed smile on her lips.

“Carrie?” Julie calls. “Carrie!”

She ignored her, joining the others and beginning to clap, when Flynn emerged beside them, out of breath. “What is she doing? I was explaining things to her, and then all of a sudden, she just walked away from me!”

As soon as the words left Flynn’s mouth, she seizes, eyes glazing over, and starts following Carrie in the same manner.

“Flynn, what—?” Julie yells, reaching out to grab her, but missing her arm.

The music. The music was doing something to them. Or, Caleb was doing something to them for that matter.

 _Willie._

Alex frantically searched for him again, his eyes desperately bouncing from one ghost to the next, until he finally spotted him with Andy, the two of them surrounded by dancers, sharing similar smiles to the one Carrie and Flynn had as they clapped their hands to the beat.

_Their souls._

Caleb was taking their souls, even the ones he already captured, and using them to gain more power. With the number of people here, it was fueling him up to the point where he was able to control ghosts _and_ lifers _,_ all at once. Enough where they weren't able to comprehend anything else other than him and his music.

Julie wasn’t being affected, though.

Julie was the only one that was completely immune. And Alex, Luke, and Reggie, although that too was becoming questionable. The potency of the music must have been affecting them much slower because Julie had some sort of power to hold them back. Or maybe, it had to do something with her being able to touch them now.

Either way, it was the four of them left.

The tug in his chest was growing heavier, and he knew it was only a matter of time before him and the boys were up there, on that stage, under Caleb’s complete control once again. With every single note he bellowed out, his power was only growing stronger. They had to stop the music somehow.

“Guys, come on!” Julie shouts, dragging them backstage again as she runs towards the stairs of Caleb’s headquarters.

Reggie flinches when she reaches the steps and begins to ascend, her feet picking up one after the other as she rushes to get to the top. They all expected her to get zapped like he did, but nothing happens as she continues to get farther and farther away from them, disappearing into the darkness.

Willie was right. Lifers _were_ able to pass through Caleb’s magic wall unharmed. Alex just hoped that Julie would be able to find something that could put a stop to all of this. She was their last hope.

Another tug of the unseen force propelled his legs forward, jerking his body closer to the stage. Resistance almost seemed harder than the first time, his hands reaching for something nearby so he could hold onto it for leverage. Luke and Reggie did the same, struggling to keep their bodies in place as they grabbed onto an object.

Julie still wasn’t coming down.

The music was getting louder, he didn’t know how long he could hold on, and he could see Caleb on the stage from here, glancing in their direction as if he knew they were just seconds away from letting go.

Just as two of his fingers slipped from their clasp, he heard Julie’s footsteps descend from the top of the stairs. They were slow and careful as if she was handling something that was big and heavy and didn’t want it to fall.

“Julie, hurry!” Luke yells, his face scrunched into exertion. He was starting to slip, too.

“I’m trying!” She calls back, strain in her voice.

It felt like centuries, but she finally makes it down the stairs, hauling a giant black storage trunk that was so ancient, it was starting to crumble on the corners from old age.

“What is that?” Alex shouts.

“I don’t know!” Julie sets it down and wipes away the layers of dust accumulated on the top. She inspects the front and sides, looking for a lock of some kind.

Alex looks back and sees that Reggie was missing. He glances at the stage and sees him with Caleb, playing his bass with a look of amazement. Oh, god. They were next.

Julie manages to find the lock, her mouth in a tight line as she struggles to get it open. It was rusty and bent, making it difficult to budge. “I can’t—it’s stuck!”

Luke was the next to go. He was holding on with one hand left as he poofed out, landing onstage with his guitar, blasting out notes with a huge grin on his face.

_Come on, Julie, come on._

He heard a click, then a latch, and before he could even muster up a word, the lid of the trunk flew open by itself, the force so powerful it knocked Julie backward on her elbows.

It was like a scene from a movie. Alex and Julie watched in awe as hundreds and hundreds of ghost-like wisps exploded out of the trunk, circulating rapidly around the room before taking off out of the door and into the crowd.

Julie sprung up and ran out of the door to witness the sight of them bouncing off the walls and into the bodies of lifers and ghosts alike. As they ricocheted from one wall to the next, they slammed inside of the bodies they claimed, the people being affected blinking and looking around as if waking up from a bad dream. One by one, souls scattered throughout the entire place, finding their rightful homes and waking up students like the flick of a light switch.

Alex felt the pull towards the stage grow weaker, if only a smidge, as his hold began to lighten up. He watched as Luke and Reggie continued to play, but their expressions faltered slightly.

_It was working._

Caleb noticed. It was kind of hard to miss the overwhelming flock of translucent mists flying all over the place.

He kept singing but whipped his head around to see the open trunk letting out the steady flow of wisps. As he stared at the trunk, fuming, he then switches his gaze to land on the one person who was paying attention to the wisps other than him.

Julie.

Alex could’ve _sworn_ he saw his eyes flash red.

As more and more people were getting their souls back, his grip on whatever he was holding onto—a curtain rope?—was growing weaker, the drawing force dulling and fading out into an almost nonexistent lure.

Alex let go of the rope and ran straight to Julie, pulling her out of the way just in time as Caleb flashed himself in front of her, snatching at thin air. His fingers grazed her shirt, but Alex was quick to notice how they passed straight through the fabric.

He couldn’t touch her.

Luke and Reggie darted into the room, back to their normal selves, glancing at the open chest and then at Alex, who was barricading Caleb from getting to Julie. She looked, to put it lightly, absolutely terrified, and she had every right to be. She just let out all of the souls that Caleb had been collecting for over a _century_. Who knows how many were in there?

Caleb eyed the four of them ominously, silent as he bit back his anger, and flashed out.

A silence passed between them as they took a second to register what just happened.

“Are you guys okay?” Luke asks them, running to their aid.

Julie brushes the dust off of her pants and puts a hand on her chest, breathing shakily. “Y-yeah. Are you?”

“Yeah, I think so,” Luke says, answering for him and Reggie.

As they walked out from backstage to inspect the damage, they couldn’t believe their eyes.

The music from the band was still playing, the dancers swaying rhythmically to the beat, but the ghosts in the club seemed to have vanished entirely, the tables marked with their names completely vacant.

Meanwhile, the remaining lifers started coming to their senses and were scanning their surroundings precariously, as if they weren’t aware of the full-blown concert happening right in front of their eyes.

They couldn’t see the band and dancers anymore. They can’t see _Caleb_ anymore.

A look of realization crosses Julie’s face. “Flynn! Carrie!” She exclaims before running to look for them.

_Willie._

Alex sets off to look for him and Andy, too.

He didn’t know where Caleb went, and _that_ was a problem in itself, but he had to get to Willie to see if he was okay. If he was still under that weird…hypnosis, or whatever Caleb was putting them through. If Julie released all of the souls that he was hoarding, did that mean that Willie had his soul back?

Alex made it to the foot of the stage where he lasted spotted him and Andy. Dancers were around him, grabbing his arms and trying to get him to dance with them, but he couldn’t focus. Where was he? He peered over heads and movements and brightly colored feather boas twirling around his vision, but he couldn’t find him.

 _He_ _wasn’t here._

Did he…?

No. _No._

He didn’t. He _didn’t._

Alex refused to believe it. His chest started constricting in on itself again, pangs of fear stabbing the insides of his ribs at the thought alone.

Willie couldn’t have disappeared or crossed over or _whatever_ the hell the other ghosts did, because Alex thinks he would _actually_ die all over again, and that wasn’t even a joke, he physically and mentally would not be able to handle it if he came to the realization that he would never hold Willie again, never kiss him again, never _see_ him again—

“Alex!”

He turns to see Willie running straight towards him, Andy jogging behind in tow.

_Oh, thank god._

He lets out a sigh of relief. He was just about on the verge of another anxiety attack.

Willie plows into him, squeezing him into a suffocating hug. They don’t say anything at first, they just hold each other, synchronizing their breathing and feeling each other’s warmth seep into their bodies, relieved that they still had one another.

“I thought—I thought—” Alex stutters, his voice failing him as he struggled to get the words out. He couldn’t even say it.

Willie starts to pull away. “Oh my god, Alex. Caleb, he—what happened? The last thing I remember was—”

Alex holds him tighter, probably crushing him at this point. But he didn’t care. “No. Don’t stop hugging me yet.”

His voice comes out muffled as he buries himself deeper into the crevice of his shoulder, wishing he could just rest his head in his neck forever and forget about this entire thing. Willie smelled nice, too. Like some type of earthy candle his mom used to buy when he was younger. It was the only thing keeping him from breaking.

Willie lets out a small laugh as he returns the same amount of eagerness Alex was giving him in the hug. “Okay.”

Alex didn’t even realize how the thought of Willie being taken from him could hurt so much. He knew that someday it would happen, but right now, right this second, the thought of him crossing over without Alex telling him how he truly felt—it tore him apart.

Willie pulled away from the hug despite Alex’s reluctance and took his face in his hands, noticing his distress. “Hey, hey. What’s the matter?”

He tried to hide it, but he couldn’t help it when a hot tear rolled down his cheek. He hated that he was crying right now. He shouldn’t be. It was ridiculous. They had bigger things to worry about. Like the fact that Caleb was gone and probably roaming around here somewhere.

“I just—” he starts, looking up underneath his wet eyelashes. “I thought you crossed over.”

Willie brushed the tear away with his thumb, brows furrowed. “Cross over? I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere, ‘Lex.”

Alex sniffs, leaning into his palm. “Julie released all of the souls Caleb was hiding. Including yours. All of the ghosts disappeared, and I thought you did too.”

Willie looks down at himself, placing a hand on his chest. Alex never noticed it before, but Willie’s skin had a bit of a sheen glow to it. Just like his and the boys' did when Julie lifted the curse on them.

“Wait, I—I have my soul back?” He says, a hint of a smile growing on his face. He then turns his hands over in front of him, like it was the first time he’d ever seen them. “Oh my god. I have my soul back!”

He lets out a giddy laugh before wrapping his arms around Alex’s neck once more. He basked in Willie’s comfort, afraid to let go in case he would somehow vanish into a golden ray of light, but after a few dreadful seconds of fearing that he would open his eyes to feel nothing in his arms, Willie was still there, enveloped in Alex’s arms, unscathed.

He caught a glimpse of Andy over Willie’s shoulder, and at first, he had to admit, he was a little scared that he was going to be mad at Alex for stealing all of Willie’s attention.

But no. He wasn’t mad at all.

In fact, he was smiling at them.

_Smiling._

It was a small smile, of course, and maybe that was just because he was relieved at getting his soul back, too, but Alex will take it. He’ll definitely take it. It sure beats the death glare he received days prior.

Alex also caught Julie, Luke, Reggie, Flynn, and Carrie heading over to them as they observed the other lifers who were, by the looks of it, very confused. Flynn and Carrie included.

He untangles himself from Willie, preparing for the group’s arrival, but continues to brush their arms and fingers together to remind himself that he’s still there.

“Where did all of the ghosts go?” Julie asks when they meet up with him.

Alex gives them his only explanation. “I think they crossed over.” He points to Flynn and Carrie. “Are they okay?”

Julie grabs their hands, smiling. Flynn and Carrie smile back, a little dazed from going under Caleb’s musical hypnosis, but otherwise fine. “Yeah. They’re okay.”

Flynn rubs her head. “Ugh, I never want to be involved in one of your ghost shenanigans ever again.”

Carrie nods in agreement. “Yeah. That was horrible. Whatever it was.”

Willie steps up to Julie, his face glowing—figuratively and literally. “Julie. I can’t even begin to tell you how long I’ve been waiting for this. I— _thank you.”_

Julie blushes in gratitude. “You’ve done so much for us already. I’m just glad that you and everyone else is okay.”

They share a heartfelt look and Luke abruptly decides to change the subject.

“Yeah, this is great and all, but does anyone know where Caleb went? I’m kinda freaking out over here,” he says, looking over his shoulder and even at the rafters above them as if expecting him to pop up from any corner.

“No, but there’s no way we scared him off,” Reggie says, shuddering. “Did you see the way he looked at us when he left? It still gives me the shivers. He kind of looked like that,” he says, pointing to Andy’s hard expression. “Except, you know, scarier, and less piercings.”

Andy’s stone-cold resting face immediately broke into a smile as he laughed at Reggie’s comparison, shaking his head. Reggie giggled nervously, too, hitting Luke’s shoulder as he widened his eyes and mouth, shell-shocked at the fact that he got Andy to laugh.

Julie bit her lip. “I don’t know where he is. But, you guys, how are we going to get all of these students out of here without them asking questions about what just happened?”

The room was beginning to pick up again in noise levels as the high schoolers chatted away about what was going on.

Andy steps up, raising a hand. “I might be able to help you out with that.”

Willie gives him a confused look. “What? How?”

He smirks. “Remember when I told you about how I died? And when I jumped off the bridge?”

Willie nods, signaling him to continue.

“Well, I didn’t die right away. Apparently, when my friends ran down to see if I was okay, they started asking me questions, and, well. I couldn’t remember anything.”

“Okay…so…”

“So, just like your ability to manipulate vehicles and technology, I can kind of manipulate memory.”

“Woah! That’s so cool!” Reggie gapes, awestruck.

It’s funny. Reggie was the one person who was genuinely scared of Andy, besides Alex, for obvious reasons, and now it seems like he’s taking a liking to him the most out of everyone.

Alex thinks it’s the matching leather jacket thing they got going on.

“So, you can, like, erase their memory of this whole thing? How far back?” Julie asks.

“Just before Nick talked to them, if you wanted. They’ll probably think they’re at a class field trip or something.”

“Okay, yeah, let’s try it,” she says, stepping back to make room for him.

“I’ve never done this many people before,” Andy admits, doing an overlook at the whole room. He takes a deep breath, and they all wait in anticipation as he focuses intently on the crowd.

Alex expected some sort of grand, pinnacle force that would sweep away the current flow of the room, like some scene from a comic book or something, but nothing much happened. Nothing other than a collective mood shift from the students. There was still confusion there, yes, but it seemed as if they were rather curious than concerned.

Again, Alex will take it.

Maybe Alex didn’t hate Andy, after all. He helped them quite a bit, in fact. Perhaps Andy could be more than an acquaintance to him. Maybe even a friend.

Flynn and Carrie agreed that they would help the students file out. They had to get them out of there, fast, in case Caleb might show up again to demand their souls from them for good. Who knows where he was?

They started to head out, too. Julie couldn’t poof out like they could, though, so they decided it was best to stay with her to make sure she would make it out safely.

They were behind a group of teenage girls, almost at the last of the students, when a flash of white light appeared out of Alex’s vision.

He didn’t need to look to know who it was.

Caleb.


	7. soul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> let's just say...caleb isn't happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sorry this is absolute garbage. and short. I'm really trying here lmao. but no, really, thanks for reading you guys :) i'd say there's only a few chapters left! oh, also: 
> 
> warning: language in this chapter, violence (minor), and minor character death 
> 
> i know i said in the tags that this book would include mild language, but this chapter includes 2 words that are probably above mild for some people. I'm so sorry about that. i will change the tags. 
> 
> and lastly...it's about to get real sad up in this b****. i'm sorry. brighter days are coming, i promise.

“Well, thank god they’re gone, right?” A voice rumbles, breaking through the empty room and filling Alex’s spine with dread.

Caleb creeps up behind them, a wicked smile spread across his face, his eyes so daunting and unwavering that it somehow managed to have a hold on all of them. Alex felt his muscles freeze from the unnerving fear stirring in his gut.

The most unsettling thing was that given the circumstances, Caleb was disturbingly calm. He kept whatever expressions or feelings he had suppressed, his frame steady and collected as he inched his way closer to them. But beyond the still and restful act, Alex knew that it was all a façade. He must have been internally seething with rage.

Alex was absolutely terrified.

He should’ve moved faster, should’ve at least gotten Julie out, or Luke or Reggie—Alex should’ve gotten _Willie_ out.

But then—no. Caleb would’ve just found another way to get to them. He would stop at nothing to get what he wanted, and that was complete and utter control over everyone and everything. This was inevitable. There was nothing they could do to avoid him and his utmost competent power.

Caleb blocked the entrance, leaving them no room for escape. If they really wanted to, they could poof out, but Caleb knew them too well. He knew they wouldn’t dare risk leaving the one thing that made them exist to a world of lifers, the one thing that made them whole again, the one thing that made them feel _alive_ again.

Julie.

She couldn’t go with them. They had to stay, for her.

“That was quite the little spectacle you put on there, wasn’t it?” Caleb says, shutting the golden doors shut with an overbearing _clang_ that rattled his eardrums _._ He leans against them as they closed and picks at his nails nonchalantly. “It certainly upstaged my show, of course.”

Silence. No one had the nerve to speak, move, or even _breathe_ for that matter. He looked around, and all of the students had filed out, including Carrie and Flynn. He didn’t see them anywhere. Even the workers seemed to have vanished. All that was left was him, Willie, Luke, Reggie, Andy, and Julie.

“You boys think you’re so clever, don’t you?” Caleb condemns, pointing a finger at Alex, Luke, and Reggie as he steps nearer to them, his boots clicking on the ground beneath his feet. Alex couldn’t help but cower at the accusing digit.

“You think just because you found my chest and—and set freedom to all of the souls that I had been storing for over a _century_ —that I won’t do something about it? That I won’t hesitate to _extinguish_ _your souls_ from the very face of this earth? You have no _idea_ what I am capable of!”

He was inches away from their faces now, breathing heavy with fury, anger oozing out of him piece by piece like a searing flow of basaltic lava as his face grew red. His true intentions were making light in the hallowed room with every word that he spat out at them, and it shook Alex to the core.

“Leave them alone. I set the souls free. Me. Not them.”

It was Julie. Her voice came out strong and confident, laced without a trace of fear. Caleb’s eyes slowly shifted over from theirs to hers, his brows knitted together downwards as he stares with a mix of hatred and curiosity.

For a couple of seconds, he does nothing but stare at her. Then, he opens up his mouth and bellows out a laugh, loud and mocking and full of scorn. He lets it roll out of him, the sound ringing in their skulls as he follows up with a smile.

“Oh, my dear. I know it was you. Actually, this whole thing could’ve been prevented if it weren’t for you.” he says, looking down at her, hands folded together.

“What are you going to do, Caleb? You can’t touch her.” Alex says, annoyed. He’s surprised at his sudden spurt of bravery, but he won’t back down now.

“Maybe not,” he says, turning from Alex to Julie. His smile disappears. “You may be a lifer, but what other power do you have against me? What can you do to prevent me from destroying your precious little ghosts? Let’s face it. Without them, you’re nothing.”

Julie holds her composure, not faltering at the slightest at Caleb’s harsh remark. He lets his words sink in, relishing in glory as if he won a small victory with the statement.

“You’re wrong, Caleb,” Luke interjects. He pushes Julie aside and steps in front of her. “She’ll do just fine without us. We’re the ones who are nothing without her.”

Julie looks like she wants to say something, brows furrowed in concern, but Caleb raises an eyebrow and speaks before she gets a word out. “Is that so? So, you’re not opposed to me separating your little hologram band once and for all?”

“How do we know that you even _can?”_ Alex steps in. “All your souls are back where they belong. You have no power anymore. Without them, _you’re_ nothing.”

As soon as the words tumbled from his lips, the entire room goes quiet. He was sure that Caleb probably hated him the most out of the band—Alex was the one who turned his own worker, well, work _ers_ , if you included Andy—against him.

“Are you sure you want to risk that?” Caleb says, eyeing him knowingly. “Just one snap of my fingers,” he presses his middle finger with his thumb tauntingly. “And you’re gone. Just like that.”

Alex opens up his mouth to counteract that, ready to challenge him, ready to _fight_ , and he honestly doesn’t even know who this Alex is or where he came from. This is the same Alex that just a second ago, questioned everything there was to know about life and about being a ghost, who avoided his problems by slamming on the drums, who was terrified of Caleb and what he could do—but _this_ Alex?

This Alex knew that he needed to push those feelings aside and do something. This Alex came out of his shell the minute Caleb threw nothing but dirt on Willie's name. He rarely came out, but when he did, it was at full force.

But Willie stops him before he could get a chance.

“Alex. _Stop.”_

He had that same look in his eye. The same look that pleaded with him to stand back, to drop it, to _let it go,_ and Alex suddenly remembered the skatepark and the board and the helmet and how Caleb didn’t think twice about taking the thing he loved most away from him. Just like that.

Willie was scared. He was scared that Caleb could still have the potential to take Alex away. 

But _could_ he? Did Caleb still have the power to do that without fueling his magic with souls? He didn’t want to disappear from existence, obviously, but what if he was lying?

Caleb notices Willie for the first time and sends him a burning glare. His expression switches like the flick of a light switch as he ignores him and brings up a warming smile to the group instead. “Let me offer you a deal.”

“A deal?” Reggie asks.

“Yes. A deal. And it’s quite simple, really.”

The entire group stood in a collective state of stillness, waiting for Caleb’s offer. Alex didn’t know what to say to that or even how to react.

A deal?

A deal with Caleb might just be the worst thing for them right now. They almost lost their _souls_ last time _._ Hell, they just _did_. What could he possibly offer to them?

“You want me to leave you alone? Fine. I’ll allow you and your band to continue on with this so-called ‘hologram’ act and you can feel free to play any show you desire. I won’t intervene nor try to steal the boys from Julie anymore.” Caleb says.

They all look at each other, confused.

He can’t be serious.

Is he serious?

 _“_ But _,”_ he continues, making a point to emphasize the word. “I want _her_ soul the minute it’s over with.”

The room goes quiet yet again, the only sound coming from his voice bouncing off the floor and traveling through the air to leave an unnerving tick in Alex’s head.

It took a minute for the information to register.

“You want…Julie’s soul?” Luke reiterates.

Caleb blinks harmlessly. “That’s what I just said, wasn’t it? Yes. You get to live out your dreams in exchange for her soul. By the time you’ve completed your unfinished business and she makes it big, her soul is mine.”

Julie herself remains quiet, eyes flickering in flashes as she contemplates the situation.

“Okay, yeah, _that’s_ a no,” Alex deflects. “What makes you think she would give up her soul to you after what you just did?”

“Oh, she doesn’t _have_ to do anything. She doesn’t even have to accept my offer if she doesn’t want to,” He smirks. “But she _might_ if I just happen to make you boys disappear. You know, into nothingness. Forever. I mean, I did it to Willie’s skating, and I most _certainly_ could do it to you. Isn’t that right, Willie?”

He stares at Willie with a look that was drenched in layers and layers of spite, all directed at him with that same taunting tone that Alex has grown to hate. He glanced over at Willie, and he was staring right back with an equal amount of something that was hard to read. It was coated in a mixture of emotions that was too deep to even comprehend.

Willie then had a fierce, determined look in his eye, and before Alex could say something, he stepped out in front of them.

“You know what? _No._ I’m sick and tired of this.”

Caleb raises his eyebrows, surprised at his sudden bravery. “Oh?”

Willie stands in front of them with his head tilted upwards, fingers clenching in his fist, and Alex just knows that he’s mustering up what must be months or years of courage. Caleb has had a hold on him long before they met, and this can’t be easy for him.

“Caleb, your souls are gone. Your lifers are gone, and your ghosts have crossed over. There’s nobody left. And this deal of yours that you're suggesting? You’re, what, just going to use Julie’s soul to fuel your power, and then what? Start all over again doing the same thing that you’ve been doing for over a century? You can’t keep doing this. They’re more powerful than you, and you know it, because they have the one thing that you don’t. They have each other.”

Willie takes a deep breath and keeps the hold on Caleb’s eyes like a magnet.

“You and I are different. We leech off of other people for our own benefit. We’re selfish, and…we have nothing to give to the world anymore,” He sighs, eyes shifting over to Alex, full of pain and guilt. He shifts them back. “It’s over, Caleb. Let them go.”

 _Leeching off?_ _Selfish?_ What is he talking about? If anyone is the selfish one here, it’s Alex. He’s the one who kept coming back to Willie despite his warnings, he’s the one who got Willie’s board taken away, and he’s the one who is preventing Willie from crossing over.

How can he compare himself to Caleb when he is the complete opposite of everything that he says he is? The words stir a gaping hole in the middle of his chest, and Alex feels the flood of tears swim to the surface of his eyes before he can stop them.

Alex takes a step forward, a trail of fire starting to flow down his cheeks, wanting to just _hug_ and _protect_ him, but—

“Willie, Willie, Willie,” Caleb mutters, shaking his head. “We _are_ alike in many ways, yes, but you’re forgetting one very important thing that makes us different from one another.”

He leans in, voice coming out in a low growl as he grips onto his arm hard. _“I’m not weak.”_

Alex watched in horror as Caleb lifted up his hand and put his middle finger and thumb together.

His mind raced back to the words Caleb said to Willie in the skatepark when he took away his board. _Next time, it’s your soul. Got it?_

It all happened so fast.

He didn’t even think about his feet or his body or what would happen to him as he lunged to push Willie out of the way—he just knew that he had to get to him somehow. And he was so close too, _so close_ to reaching him, his arms stretched out, his heart still managing to mimic the feeling of a rapid beat in his chest, his fingers barely brushing against his shirt—

But Alex wasn’t close enough.

He wasn’t close enough. And his thoughts were scrambling and fleeting and striving to figure out how _he didn’t make it in time_ , how he couldn’t push his feet fast enough, how he couldn’t push Willie out of the way to protect him, how he couldn’t even _save_ him—

But then something else happens entirely.

Andy.

He was so quiet throughout this entire thing that Alex forgot he was even there.

But he was close enough.

He was right there, just in time, and Alex watched as Andy moved faster than lightning, faster than Alex, ripped Caleb’s hold off of Willie, and stared directly into his eyes as soon as Caleb’s fingers clamped down to his palm with a loud _snap._

Alex doesn’t think he’ll ever be able to get that sound out of his head.

He knows he won’t. Because just as fast as Andy was, eyes glued sharply onto Caleb’s as he tore his attention away from Willie, Caleb’s fingers were faster.

There was no stopping it.

Andy was gone.

There was no flash of light, no big eruption of shiny golden rays, no sound of him flickering into nothingness, not even his soul bursting into the air and floating around the room to search for a non-existent afterlife body.

There was nothing.

Just the deafening sound of silence wafting in and out of Alex’s ears as he stared at the spot where Andy used to stand.

Willie was frozen beside him, mouth open in shock as he gaped at the now empty void of space that replaced him. He brings up a shaking hand to cover it. “Y—You…” he chokes, voice cracking as he turns to Caleb. Alex watched as his face morphed from shock to despair to anger in the span of almost a second.

Alex, once again, was too late as he tried to stop Willie when he threw himself at Caleb. He shoved him with so much force that Caleb tripped over his feet. “You _fucking_ asshole!” Willie screams, pain etched in his features. “Why couldn’t you have just listened to me? He’s gone! You—you killed him!”

He brings his hands up in his hair, biting on his lip as he struggles to fight back tears. Alex wanted to comfort him, but he was scared that if he reached out to touch him, he would break. Willie was cracking, on the verge of shattering into shards of glass right now, and he didn’t want to add more pressure on him in this state.

He knows that Caleb didn’t technically kill Andy, not really. Andy was already dead.

But, in a way, a part of him really did die. Even as a ghost, your soul stays with you and carries on without a human body. It may be stolen from you, like Caleb did with all of the other ghosts, but at least it would still be there. Hidden and enclosed in a chest, but still there.

But to have a soul _extinguished?_ That…that was worse than dying. It was like he never existed at all. As a human _or_ as a ghost.

Alex felt a rush of realization hit him like a ton of bricks at the thought of him or his friends being erased from the world like that. Caleb wasn’t lying. That could’ve been him. That could’ve been _any_ of them.

And Andy, just like Alex, sacrificed himself for Willie. Alex suddenly began to feel the effects of his disappearance slam into him. Andy was gone. Forever. And he didn't even get to say goodbye or apologize or thank him for what he did.

And Willie.

Willie just lost another part of his past life that meant something to him. He only had Alex left.

Caleb regained his balance, steadying himself with outstretched arms, and Willie was looking at him with so much disgust and pain that another stab went through the hole in Alex’s chest from the sight of it. He expected Caleb to come running at them, to finish what he started and destroy Willie once and for all, and Alex was fully preparing himself to do whatever it took to protect him. He grabbed Willie’s hand and put him behind him.

But Caleb didn’t come running at them.

Oddly enough, he didn’t even look _angry._

Caleb shook out his head and blinked a couple of times as if he was in a daze. He glanced at his hands and turned them around, gazing in silence as he peered down at his own body. Willie _did_ shove him pretty hard, but not to the point where he could’ve done damage. What was he doing?

He finally looked up at them, confusion written across his face. “I'm sorry, who are you?”

Um.

_What._

Okay, that was not what Alex was expecting at all.

He felt Willie’s head peer over his shoulder at the unusual question. He cautiously walked out from behind him, keeping a fist full of Alex’s jacket, and stood beside him to get a closer look. He was still shaking, and Alex gently ran his knuckles down his arm to try and soothe him.

No one answered Caleb as he continued to stare at them. Alex himself was just trying to make sense of it all.

He couldn’t… _remember_ them. Caleb made Andy disappear, and now he suddenly couldn’t remember them.

Alex gets a flashback of the look in Andy’s eyes right before Caleb snapped his fingers. They were intense. Determined. Purposeful.

_Knowing._

And then it clicked.

Andy wiped Caleb’s memory.


	8. slipping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> nick is back to himself again. kinda. willie is slipping.

Andy wiped Caleb’s memory.

Caleb was having trouble remembering their names. And struggling to grasp at the concept of his clothes, or even his body, for that matter. How far back did Andy erase?

Alex waited in anticipation for what was to come next. It seemed as if the entire group waited, too, because seconds passed with Caleb standing silent and everyone absorbing the conceptions of the previous events that took place.

Before Alex could do anything, however, Caleb shifted his movement.

In an odd, twitch-like trance, he morphed his ghost body back into Nick’s human one, his eyes glazing over and jutting his jaw to open up his mouth into a wide gape.

The sight of Nick standing like that, still and the complete submissive object of possession sent a shiver down Alex’s spine. He looked over at Julie to see her reaction—only to see her cringing, shrinking into herself at the sight of Nick’s unnatural physique. It must be so strange for her to see him in this state when he’s only ever been the complete opposite of anything grim.

A dark plum swirling cloud of smoke began to escape Nick’s mouth at that moment, Caleb’s soul slowly starting to seep out and envelop the air around them. As the darkened purple haze traveled closer to them, growing bigger and bigger in size, Alex took a step back, dragging along Willie and the others with him. He didn’t know what the cloud was going to do or where it was going to go, and for a second, he was scared that it would inhabit itself inside Julie’s body, making her the new host.

But it didn’t.

The cloud only grew farther away from them as the seconds ticked on.

Then, the cloud formed a shape, the outline of a man, and enlightened into Caleb’s true self. The ever-so-promising Caleb Covington that sucked souls and hijacked people’s perceptions of their own identities and even time itself.

But even when the rest of the smoke faded and Caleb looked over at his old host, Nick, who was, by the looks of it, about to collapse from exertion, he peered with a curious look in his eye. An inquisitive, raw, and vulnerable spec of innocence that had never existed before.

Caleb didn’t know what he had done.

He was like a child, his clean-slated mind searching for answers in a world filled with infinitive theories to be explored, and he didn’t have a single clue what any of it meant.

But Alex knew. He knew what he had done, and it didn’t change anything.

Because he was still the same Caleb. The Caleb that possessed Nick, extinguished Andy, hurt Willie, and tainted all of their lives without a hint of regret.

And the fact that he couldn’t remember any of this at all burned a thread of anger through Alex’s gut even more. How could he ever get what he deserved if he didn’t know what he had done in the first place? How is any of that fair?

It wasn’t. And it never would be.

But there wasn’t anything he could do.

Willie tensed beside him. Alex could feel the sudden grip of his fingers tightening in his hold, and he squeezed his hand back as a way to send over reassuring signals to him, but as he glanced over, he noticed the reason for his tension.

Caleb was staring at Willie.

But it wasn’t so much of a glare.

Instead, his gaze was deep and held something that was hard for Alex to understand. He didn’t know what it was. All he knew was that it was affecting Willie in some way.

Then, in a flash of light, Caleb was gone.

Julie was quick to catch Nick just as he was about to fall. He looked like all the life was sucked out of him—which, it was—and he clung to Julie as she carried him over to an empty chair.

Luke and Reggie walked over to help, but there wasn’t much they could do. They could only watch as Julie struggled to keep his body from slumping over.

“Nick? Nick, can you hear me?”

His eyes blinked slowly, opening at the slightest before closing shut again.

She sighs. “I don’t know what to do. I can’t carry him home like this.”

The doors flew open then, Carrie and Flynn bursting into the room. Flynn raced over. “What happened? We couldn’t get back in after the doors closed. They were sealed shut or something.”

Julie waves her hand over to them, signaling for help. “Caleb left Nick’s body. He’s back to normal. Well, sort of. Can you help me with him? We should get him to my place.”

Carrie and Flynn help Julie lift Nick out of the chair and onto his feet, putting his arms around their shoulders to steady him and walk him out of the doors. It was going to be a long way home for them. Alex felt helpless.

Luke and Reggie followed after them, not quite sure knowing how to help, either, but walked closely behind so they knew they would make it back safely.

Alex tugged Willie along, the two of them bringing up the rear of the group, and Willie moved slowly, stopping to look behind them at the Hollywood Ghost Club. Or, what was left of it. Now it was just an empty club filled with bright lights and a presence of lost souls that were no longer where they used to be.

Alex watched Willie as he took one final glance, face full of longing, before shaking his head and dragging them closer to the group.

He didn’t want to ask Willie if he was okay. That was stupid. He knew he wasn’t. But the further away they got from the club, following behind hand in hand, the more agitated Willie seemed to become. Alex couldn’t read his mind. He didn’t know what he was thinking, and it was driving him crazy.

As soon as they crossed the threshold of the building, the outside streets bustling with noise and lifers, he squeezed his hand. “What are you thinking?”

When Willie met his eyes, they were full of anger. “Nothing, just…Caleb’s gone, and I never have to go back there again. I’m free. But…even though that place was like a prison to me, I still feel this sort of connection to it. I don’t know—I’m just mad. Really mad at Caleb for what he did. To the other ghosts and to you guys…” He swallows, eyes glistening. “And to Andy.”

The rest of the group kept moving along as Alex stopped the two of them in the middle of the sidewalk.

“Hey. Look at me,” he says, placing his fingers on his jaw when Willie kept gazing at the building. “You have every reason to be mad. Okay? So many things just happened at once, terrible things, and it’s going to have an effect on all of us, but you—especially you—have every right to feel whatever you’re feeling right now.”

Willie quickly wiped away the trail of tears that escaped his lids, nodding at Alex’s words. The tears kept coming, though, a steady flow that coursed down his cheeks, collected at the bottom of his jaw, and fell in droplets to the ground below.

“I just…I didn’t even get to say goodbye to him, Alex,” He says, his face crumpling in pain. “He was the one thing I had left from my past. And he’s gone.”

He takes a shaky breath and wraps his arms around himself as if to conceal his inner turmoil, and Alex can’t bear to see him like this.

Alex tried everything in his power to make sure that Willie had the best Christmas ever, to make sure that he had everything he wanted or needed for the final month of the year—a skateboard, a place to stay, friends and family to be with—but Alex thinks the only thing he ever did was make matters worse.

“If it weren’t for me, he would still be here right now. Caleb was mad at _me_ , and I pushed him. It was my fault, I—”

“Willie. It was not your fault. None of this was ever your fault, do you understand me?” Alex says, the tone in his voice on the verge of being strict. He wouldn’t stand to listen to him ramble on about how terrible of a person he was, when in reality, he was anything but. It crushed him to know that Willie thought of himself in that way.

“But—”

“No, Willie. It was Caleb. It was all Caleb. You can’t blame yourself. You didn’t know what he would do, and you didn’t know what Andy was going to do, either. He made his own choice to protect you. _Nothing_ that happened was your fault.”

Willie sighs, a few strands of hair falling out in front of his face. “Then why do I feel so guilty?”

Alex wants to say something to him to make him feel better. He desperately wants to take away his pain and bring Andy back, but he can’t. He can’t give him an answer to that. Instead, he remembers something that Willie had said that made him stir.

“Earlier, when you were trying to convince Caleb to leave, you said you leeched off of other people for your own selfish reasons…what was that about? Is that what you really think? That you’re selfish?”

He sniffs, shrugging one shoulder. “Sometimes. Yeah.”

“Why? Willie, you’re not. _You’re not.”_

“In the beginning, when we first met, and Caleb eventually wanted me to spy on you guys, I felt horrible. Still do. I feel like I don’t deserve you after everything I put you through.”

God. Alex was going to burst from frustration. How could he not see that he did? How could he not see that _Alex_ was the one who didn’t deserve him?

Willie doesn't stop. “And this whole thing—my board, Caleb possessing Nick and stealing everyone’s souls, Andy…it’s too much. What if he’s alone somewhere? What if he can’t feel anything at all? It’s eating me alive that I don’t know and I’ll never know and I just—I can’t—”

Alex brings him into his arms, interrupting his rambling, and Willie clings to him like a lifeboat on an angry sea, his body trembling against his, and Alex can’t do much to help him, can’t stop the shaking, can’t do anything other than hug him tight, and at the moment it’s all he can offer.

But he can be here. He can listen. He can hold him. And Alex holds onto that thought and tucks it away where he can find it again when he’s feeling his own shameful guilt for letting anything bad happen to Willie.

“You deserve me,” Alex whispers into his shoulder. “You shouldn’t have to feel like you don’t. And Andy…” He hesitates before letting the words out. “He did what he did to protect you. He cared about you.”

He didn’t want to say more because he didn’t know Andy that well. Not really. He didn’t even know him when he was alive or what his relationship with Willie was like. He still doesn’t know why they broke up in the first place.

But Andy must have cared about Willie enough to do what he did. Maybe he still loved him.

Willie’s arms grow even tighter, and he shifts his head against his shoulder, resting it there as he lets out a big sigh. Alex feels something seep into the fabric of his shirt. Tears, he thinks.

“I didn’t think he did anymore,” Willie mumbles. “After we broke up…I thought he hated me.”

“Can I ask what happened?”

Willie lets go of the embrace and they continue on after the group, a couple of yards away now. He sees Luke and Reggie point out a bus stop to Julie. They set Nick down on a bench and wait, and Luke snatches a hat from a nearby lifer, putting it on of Nick so no one sees his drooping eyes.

“We were never a good match, even from the start,” Willie starts. “We were friends first before anything else, and…well, we both aren’t necessarily rule followers, if you haven’t noticed already. We would get into a lot of trouble together, and when we started dating, it only got worse,”

“The way that Andy died doesn’t really surprise me, honestly. He always did crazy stuff like that, and I would do some of it, but…he just kept pushing.”

“What kind of stuff?” Alex asks.

“Just shit that would get us in trouble with the police. Trespassing…graffiti…skating in places where we shouldn’t…and, I mean, it’s fun. I do that stuff now, and I’m _dead_ —but the thing was, we already got caught once before. My parents would’ve disowned me if I got in trouble again. But he wanted to go even farther,”

“Andy didn’t understand the relationship I had with my parents,” Willie continued. “He didn’t get that I cared what they thought about me and what I thought of them. He never had that with his parents. They were…less accepting. Less loving than mine. They belittled everything he did, even before they found out about his sexuality, and he took it out on them by causing trouble,”

“I don’t blame him—and I tried to be there for him. I really did,” Willie sighs, staring at his hands in thought. “But he just kept pushing and pushing me to do things that I didn’t want to do. I couldn’t be who he wanted me to be, so…I broke things off.”

_Less accepting. Less loving._

Alex knows how that feels. He understands where Andy is coming from.

But at the same time, Alex’s parents _were_ loving, once upon a time. They were gentle and caring and good. The only thing standing in the way of him and his parents was his sexuality—his true self. They couldn’t accept him for who he was.

But Andy’s parents couldn’t accept him for who he was even before that. They never cared for him, and his sexuality didn’t even how they felt about him.

 _That’s_ something that he can’t imagine.

“That’s why I thought he hated me. And it all made sense that he was working for Caleb, to get back at me for breaking up with him, but then…he helped us. He helped us and he _saved_ me.”

Willie has a look of confusion on his face, complexed and ridden with unsolved puzzles as if he can’t make up his mind about something. Alex didn’t want to think about it, and he didn’t want to sound needy, but…did Willie still have feelings for him? Andy _saved_ him. If it were Alex, he wouldn’t help but feel some sort of connection to him for that.

“He was a big part of your life, Willie. Even though you two ended things, maybe his feelings for you didn’t.”

What is he doing?

If Willie did have some leftover love for Andy, Alex is helping him dig into those feelings again.

_What is he doing?_

“Yeah, maybe,” Willie responds.

Oh, god. He needs to talk to Julie again. He’s messing up his own love life before it’s even started.

As they finally made it to the bus stop, sitting on the bench next to the boys in silence, another thought occurred to him, and it left him curious.

“Willie?”

“Yeah?”

“Before Caleb left…he was looking at you weird. It was bothering you, wasn’t it?”

“Oh. That,” Willie says, frowning. “Yeah. It _was_ weird. I couldn’t tell for sure, but…even though he couldn’t recognize me, it felt like he was staring at me with these… _guilt_ eyes. Like he knew what he did even though he couldn’t remember.”

“Do you think he was sorry?”

“Maybe. I don’t know. I don’t think Caleb could ever feel any remorse whatsoever, but if that’s what that look was, then yeah. He probably felt something related to it.”

Alex sat in ponderation as the screeching of breaks from the bus halted in front of them. The doors swung open and a swarm of lifers started to file in, while Julie, Carrie, and Flynn stood up, hauling Nick. It looked like he was coming back to life a little bit, as he was able to slowly maneuver up the stairs with them. Hopefully the people on the bus didn’t think much of his wooziness. They’ve probably seen worse.

Alex and Willie found an empty spot in the back of the bus across from Reggie and Luke. The bus jolted forward before taking off to the next stop, the outside world becoming one big blur of color and illumination as they passed street light after street light.

He stares out the window as droplets of water particles coat the glass, racing each other down the sill before falling on the seat. Alex doodled on it mindlessly, his thoughts racing about Willie and Andy and Caleb, about Nick and Julie and their band, and how their lives would carry on after this.

Because it was over. It was all over.

The Hollywood Ghost Club was vacant. Caleb was gone. Willie was free. They _all_ were free.

Just as he finished adding a heart to the glass, poorly drawn and quite ugly now that he starts to look at it, Willie reaches across him and traces something inside of it.

He leans back, satisfied, a tiny smile on his lips as the letters themselves start to drip from the condensation.

_W + A._

Willie leans his head against Alex’s shoulder, closing his eyes as his hand finds Alex’s, and his cold fingers weave and lock themselves into his. Alex, a little surprised, lets himself relax into the sudden affection.

“Thank you,” Willie mutters, his voice lulling and quiet as he begins to drift off to sleep.

“For what?” Alex whispers back.

“For being you. For being so understanding and caring all the time. I don’t deserve it.”

There it is again.

_I don’t deserve it. I don’t deserve you._

Alex doesn’t understand it. Willie blames himself for everything. For the whole thing with Caleb, for Andy’s soul being extinguished, for getting Alex involved—he can’t think that way anymore. It’s going to tear him apart.

Alex doesn’t know where the courage came from. He doesn’t know how it developed, or how on earth he’s had more courage in the past couple of hours than he’s had in a long time, but it shows up, once again, like a train slamming into him and awakening everything in him that’s been conjuring up inside for months now, and it hits him hard.

His whole body tingles when the words tumble from his lips, soft and fragile and quiet, so quiet, that if he would’ve spoken it a couple of timbres louder, it wouldn’t have the same effect.

“I love you, Willie.”

Alex expects a gasp, or an exclamation, or the lift of his head.

But there’s nothing.

He feels the gentle inhale and exhale of Willie’s breathing against his side, evened out, and when Alex squeezes his palm, he doesn’t receive a squeeze back.

He’s asleep.

Oh.

Well.

That’s good, then, right? He can avoid that conversation for a while longer.

He settles against him again, basking in Willie’s warmth and relishing in his presence, and _god_ , he’s so thankful that it wasn’t Willie that was taken from him.

The bus rumbles along, the luminescence of the lights cascade down on them, and Alex thinks about the sleeping boy beside him, strong and brave and maybe a little bit broken.

But Alex loves him. And he won't ever let him slip away from him again. Not now, not ever.


End file.
